Supportive Care in Pediatric Oncology: Opportunities and Future Directions.

Simple Summary: Supportive care is an essential component of excellent cancer care. It refers to the optimization of outcomes through supportive practices such as infection prevention, nutritional improvements, survivorship, early integration of palliative care, and addressing the psychological effects of cancer therapy. This perspective highlights the future directions and efforts necessary to advance supportive care in order to improve outcomes, survival, and quality of life for pediatric cancer patients. Herein, the authors summarize critical accomplishments and highlight important opportunities to expand research in this field to ensure optimal outcomes for children with cancer and survivors of childhood cancer. The optimization of outcomes for pediatric cancer patients relies on the successful advancement of supportive care to ease the treatment burden and mitigate the long-term impacts of cancer therapy. Advancing pediatric supportive care requires research prioritization as well as the development and implementation of innovations. Like the prevailing theme throughout pediatric oncology, there is a clear need for personalized or precision approaches that are consistent, evidence-based, and guided by clinical practice guidelines. By incorporating technology and datasets, we can address questions which may not be feasible to explore in clinical trials. Now is the time to listen to patients' voices by using patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to ensure that their contributions and experiences inform clinical care plans. Furthermore, while the extrapolation of knowledge and approaches from adult populations may suffice in the absence of pediatric-specific evidence, there is a critical need to specifically understand and implement elements of general and developmental pediatrics like growth, nutrition, development, and physical activity into care. Increased research funding for pediatric supportive care is critical to address resource availability, equity, and disparities across the globe. Our patients deserve to enjoy healthy, productive lives with optimized and enriched supportive care that spans the spectrum from diagnosis to survivorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]