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Current Oncology
Volume 32
Issue 2
10.3390/curroncol32020084
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

The Healthcare Professionals’ and Patient Advocates’ Perspectives on the Care for Children with Cancer in Europe—A Report from the ESCALIER Project

by
Maria Otth
1,2,3,4,*,
Marko Ocokoljic
4,5,
Theodora Armenkova
5,6,
Irina Ban
5,7,
Samira Essiaf
4,
Maximilian Hopfgartner
5,
Lejla Kameric
5,8,
Pamela R. Kearns
4,9,
Georgia Kokkinou
5,10,
Carmelo Rizzari
4,11,12,
Carina Schneider
5 and
Katrin Scheinemann
1,3,4
1
Division of Oncology-Hematology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Switzerland, 9006 St. Gallen, Switzerland
2
Department of Oncology, University Children's Hospital Zurich, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
3
Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, 6002 Lucerne, Switzerland
4
The European Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOP Europe), 1200 Brussels, Belgium
5
Childhood Cancer International-Europe (CCI Europe), 1080 Vienna, Austria
6
Foundation Gold, 1836 Sofia, Bulgaria
7
ZVONČICA Association of Children with Cancer and other Rare Diseases, 11070 Belgrade, Serbia
8
Heart for Kids with Cancer, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
9
Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
10
Floga Parents Association of Children with Cancer, 11527 Goudi, Greece
11
Department of Pediatrics, Foundation IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, 20900 Monza, Italy
12
Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Monza, Italy
 
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*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Curr. Oncol. 2025, 32(2), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32020084 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 4 January 2025 / Revised: 27 January 2025 / Accepted: 30 January 2025 / Published: 31 January 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Cancer in children and adolescents is rare. Therefore, experienced multidisciplinary teams of health care professionals and input from patient advocates are needed. Within the ESCALIER project, we present the current situation of care for children and adolescents with cancer in Europe from the perspective of these stakeholders and highlight the topics relevant for them. A survey developed by representatives from the European Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOPE) and Childhood Cancer International-Europe (CCI-E) was sent to European paediatric oncologists and patient organizations. We analysed all six questions related to general aspects of care and ten questions especially relevant for SIOPE or CCI-E using descriptive statistics. In total, 159 paediatric oncologists from 35 European countries and 41 CCI-E member organizations from 30 countries replied. Six of the ten questions selected by SIOPE and CCI-E representatives were identical and covered topics from diagnosis to end of treatment and follow-up care. This highlights the alignment of topics relevant for both stakeholders. However, the answers provided by SIOPE and CCI-E respondents to the same questions differed to varying degrees, and answers also differed between respondents from the same country. The differences in the answers provided to our survey highlight the need to raise awareness, improve knowledge, and strengthen communication between different stakeholders, organisations, patients, and families. The stakeholders’ different experiences and knowledge must be considered, and can thus strengthen common goals to provide the best possible care to children and adolescents with cancer in Europe.
Keywords: childhood; cancer; malignancy; standards of care; Europe childhood; cancer; malignancy; standards of care; Europe

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MDPI and ACS Style

Otth, M.; Ocokoljic, M.; Armenkova, T.; Ban, I.; Essiaf, S.; Hopfgartner, M.; Kameric, L.; Kearns, P.R.; Kokkinou, G.; Rizzari, C.; et al. The Healthcare Professionals’ and Patient Advocates’ Perspectives on the Care for Children with Cancer in Europe—A Report from the ESCALIER Project. Curr. Oncol. 2025, 32, 84. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32020084

AMA Style

Otth M, Ocokoljic M, Armenkova T, Ban I, Essiaf S, Hopfgartner M, Kameric L, Kearns PR, Kokkinou G, Rizzari C, et al. The Healthcare Professionals’ and Patient Advocates’ Perspectives on the Care for Children with Cancer in Europe—A Report from the ESCALIER Project. Current Oncology. 2025; 32(2):84. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32020084

Chicago/Turabian Style

Otth, Maria, Marko Ocokoljic, Theodora Armenkova, Irina Ban, Samira Essiaf, Maximilian Hopfgartner, Lejla Kameric, Pamela R. Kearns, Georgia Kokkinou, Carmelo Rizzari, and et al. 2025. "The Healthcare Professionals’ and Patient Advocates’ Perspectives on the Care for Children with Cancer in Europe—A Report from the ESCALIER Project" Current Oncology 32, no. 2: 84. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32020084

APA Style

Otth, M., Ocokoljic, M., Armenkova, T., Ban, I., Essiaf, S., Hopfgartner, M., Kameric, L., Kearns, P. R., Kokkinou, G., Rizzari, C., Schneider, C., & Scheinemann, K. (2025). The Healthcare Professionals’ and Patient Advocates’ Perspectives on the Care for Children with Cancer in Europe—A Report from the ESCALIER Project. Current Oncology, 32(2), 84. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32020084

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