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Abstract

Teenagers and young adults (TYA) are less likely to be entered into cancer clinical trials and research compared to children and some older adults. This pattern of lower inclusion rates is reported internationally regardless of healthcare system and is thought to be related to suboptimal improvements in outcomes for this group. This Chapter describes, including two case studies, why clinical trials are important, what we can learn from existing literature and how young people can be involved in research design and study conduct.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank members of the Core Consumer Group and the BRIGHTLIGHT Young Advisory for their contribution to research studies under the aegis of the National Cancer Research Institutes Teenage and Young Adult Clinical Studies Group and BRIGHTLIGHT. The case study presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research Programme (Grant Reference Number RP-PG-1209-10013). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. Lorna Fern is funded by Teenage Cancer Trust.

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Correspondence to Lorna A. Fern Ph.D. .

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Fern, L.A., Whelan, J. (2018). Cancer Research and AYA. In: Chisholm, J., Hough, R., Soanes, L. (eds) A Practical Approach to the Care of Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66173-5_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66173-5_2

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