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According to national cancer registry data in Japan, approximately 20,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs, age 15–39 years) are newly diagnosed with cancer each year. Improvements in treatment and care for AYAs with cancer are included in the Phase Three Basic Plan to Promote Cancer Control Programs in Japan. This article reviews current cancer incidence and survival for AYAs with cancer in Japan using population-based cancer registry data. Mortality data through 2019 from the Vital Statistics of Japan are also described. Encouragingly, the 5-year survival probability for AYA cancers has continued to improve, in parallel with childhood cancers, and the mortality rate has decreased. There has been increasing attention to these vulnerable patients and improved partnerships and collaboration between adult and pediatric oncology; however, obstacles to the care of this population still exist at multiple levels. These obstacles relate to specific areas: research efforts and enrollment in clinical trials on AYA malignancies, AYA-specific psychosocial support such as education, financial support, and oncofertility care, and cancer care systems. It is important for Japanese oncologists, health care providers, and health policy makers to recognize that the AYA population remains vulnerable and still have unmet needs.

Adolescent and young adult (AYA) with cancer are at risk for developing sexual and reproductive problems; therefore, they have special needs. AYA with cancer treated in both pediatric and adult wards are a minority in Japan; thus, accumulating experience for supporting this unique patient population is difficult for nurses. Hence, this study aimed to clarify nurses’ perceptions on support for sexual and reproductive issues among AYA with cancer. A questionnaire survey was administered to nurses at designated cancer hospitals across Japan who had been working for at least 1 year in a department involved in the treatment or follow-up of patients aged 15–39 years. Nurses were asked regarding their perceptions on support for sexual and reproductive issues faced by AYA with cancer. A total of 865 nurses responded to this survey; nurses affiliated with adult departments, those with more experience in cancer nursing, those affiliated with cancer-related academic and professional societies, and certified nurse specialists or certified nurses significantly recognized insufficient support for sexual and reproductive issues. However, nurses were hesitant and found it difficult to intervene in such issues. Nurses recognized the importance of providing support for sexual and reproductive issues but faced difficulties in addressing them. They need to discuss these issues and improve the care provided to AYA with cancer.

Female childhood cancer survivors who develop gonadal dysfunction require female hormone replacement therapy (HRT) from puberty until menopause. However, the support provided in such cases has not been studied. We investigated the physical and social characteristics and support needs of adult female childhood cancer survivors who underwent HRT. Forty-nine adult female childhood cancer survivors completed self-administered questionnaires. We compared the clinical characteristics, health status, and social conditions between a group that underwent HRT and a group that did not, and we surveyed support needs of the group that underwent HRT. The median age of the subjects was 25.0 years (range 20−41). Twenty subjects (40.8%) underwent HRT. A significantly high number of those who underwent HRT also underwent radiation therapy (p

We investigated the marital status and the presence or absence of children in survivors of childhood, adolescent and young adult (AYA) high-grade sarcoma and examined the influence of these factors on the quality of life (QOL) of these survivors. Thirty-eight survivors of childhood and AYA high-grade sarcoma (18 males, 20 females) participated in a questionnaire survey on marital status and presence or absence of children, as well as on the health-related QOL (HR-QOL), using the Short Form 36 Health Survey. Diagnoses among these survivors were osteosarcoma (28 participants), Ewing’s sarcoma (4 participants), synovial sarcoma (4 participants) and others (2 participants). Of the 18 males who participated in the survey, eight (44.4 %) were married, of whom five (62.5 %) had children. Fifteen (75.0 %) of the 20 females were married, of whom 14 (93.3 %) had children. The proportions of surviving male patients who were married and who had children, respectively, were lower than those of surviving female patients. The proportion of ifosfamide-treated men with children was significantly lower than that of non-ifosfamide-treated men (p = 0.018). With respect to the relationship between marital status and HR-QOL, the scores for the vitality and mental health domains of the SF-36 of survivors who were married were significantly higher than those of unmarried survivors. The results of our questionnaire survey reveal that among the male survivors of high-grade sarcoma, the proportions of those who were married and of those with children were lower than those of female survivors, suggesting that strategies providing support for marriage and child-rearing may be necessary for the male survivor group. In the married group, mental QOL was high.

Chronic pain is a common problem in pediatric practice. The prevalence of chronic pain in children is30%. Because pain indicates emotional expression as well as the physiological reaction toward infection, injury, and inflammation, both physiological and psychological assessments are essential to determine primary interventions for chronic pain. The Japanese Society of Psychosomatic Pediatrics Task Force of clinical practice guidelines for chronic pain in children and adolescents compiled clinical evidence and opinions of specialists associated with the primary care of pediatric chronic pain in the Japanese 'clinical guidelines for chronic pain in children and adolescents' in 2009, which are presented herein. The guidelines consist of three domains: general introduction to chronic pain; chronic abdominal pain; and chronic headache. Each section contains information on the physiological mechanism, psychological aspects, assessment methods, and primary interventions for pediatric chronic pain. These guidelines are expected to help disseminate knowledge on primary interventions for chronic pain in children and adolescents.