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Open research questions in Cancer survivorship and care

1,595 gap statements mined from Cancer survivorship and care papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 7,611 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • Future work should focus on a phased evaluation for this framework moving from structured content validation to implementation and outcome evaluation according to implementation science models. This would allow for iterative refinement while generating evidence across measures of usability, process, and clinical impact before scaling to diverse oncology practice settings for broader adoption.

    Integrating Physiatry and Palliative Care in Outpatient Oncology: A Clinical Framework for Bidirectional Referral and Co-Management · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to explore the factors influencing FCR among breast cancer survivors. Studies could investigate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing FCR. Research could also examine the role of trust in the healthcare system in shaping patients' experiences and outcomes.

    A photo elicitation study of fear of cancer recurrence and support needs among breast cancer survivors · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of understanding of the emotional and psychological challenges faced by breast cancer survivors regarding fear of cancer recurrence. Prior studies have primarily focused on the prevalence and correlates of fear of cancer recurrence, rather than the experiences and support needs of breast cancer survivors.

    A photo elicitation study of fear of cancer recurrence and support needs among breast cancer survivors · 2026 · DOI

  • Several questions are out of scope of this evaluation, including patient perspectives which are examined separately for quality improvement purposes but have not been reported. Finally, we did not compare staffing workload or costs against the usual level of care, and sustainability under future institutional leadership priorities remains uncertain.

    Practical Insights from Operationalizing a Remote Symptom Monitoring Program Using a Commercial Platform in a Canadian Community Cancer Clinic: A Post-Implementation Qualitative Evaluation · 2026 · DOI

  • First, most of the included studies did not report treatment stage or disease severity in lung cancer patients; therefore, it remains unclear how these interventions can be tailored to specific patient subgroups.

    Comparative efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine-based non-pharmacological therapies for managing cancer-related fatigue in lung cancer patients: a systematic review and network meta-analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • This lack of standardized, tumor-specific rehabilitation protocols contributes to variability in clinical practice and underlines the urgent need for more rigorous and focused guideline development.

    Rehabilitation in patients with primary brain tumors: a scoping review of current guideline recommendations · 2026 · DOI

  • However, a cross-sectional design is a limitation of this study, as reverse causality may be a concern with any observed associations. Due to the lack of data, we could not take into account distance to care and prior healthcare experiences, which could have provided further insight, especially when examining the effects of transportation barriers and nervousness on delayed healthcare.

    Sociodemographic disparities and reasons for delayed healthcare among U.S. cancer survivors: an All of Us study · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should focus on providing the required technology to a broader spectrum of older adults to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of this type of virtual intervention for those with lower technology proficiency.

    A pilot randomized controlled trial comparing the feasibility and preliminary effects of different forms of exercise-related social support for older adult survivors of cancer · 2026 · DOI

  • Primarily, many evidence sources focused on the effectiveness of treatment, side effects of treatment, and cancer progression, suggesting future research is needed to identify and assess the impact of HNC and its treatment more comprehensively.

    Long-term outcomes among individuals living with and beyond head and neck cancer: a scoping review · 2026 · DOI

  • Future work should seek to acquire insight into the perspectives of a more representative sample of breast cancer survivors. In particular, survivors who are less physically active, older, have lower socioeconomic status, and reside in rural communities. Further research is also needed to understand how to best communicate exercise information generated by the tool to survivors.

    Breast cancer survivors’ perspectives on a clinical decision tool to support individualized exercise prescriptions and discussions · 2026 · DOI

  • Although there is limited research investigating the differences between in-person and virtual focus groups, conducting them virtually may have some potential benefits, such as eliminating the need for participants to travel and being more feasible for individuals with health issues.

    What is helpful and not? Patients’ opinions and beliefs of how to support reduced sedentary behavior during cancer treatment—a thematic analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • The reliance on self-reported measures is a key limitation; specifically, the use of physical activity logs may be susceptible to recall and social desirability biases, while self-reported social support could be influenced by subjective perceptions.

    Toward precision rehabilitation: a latent profile analysis of social support as a buffer against fatigue and reduced physical activity in breast cancer chemotherapy · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should explore the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical impact of digital PRO monitoring systems in LMICs, where resource constraints heighten the need for low-cost, high-yield prognostic tools.

    Patient-Reported Quality of Life Predicts First-Cycle Pharmacotherapy Survival in Breast Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study · 2026 · DOI

  • Nutritional, psychological, combined, and multimodal approaches remain comparatively underexplored. The review revealed an uneven distribution of studies across intervention types and outcome assessments, and identified important gaps in the evidence on lifestyle interventions delivered during RT.

    Lifestyle Interventions During Radiotherapy: A Scoping Review of Their Effects on Toxicity and Patient-Centered Outcomes · 2026 · DOI

  • External validation of the model is needed to assess its robustness and generalizability. Future studies should also apply the model to more heterogeneous and representative samples, including individuals with limited access to cancer counseling services.

    Development of a prediction model for occupational satisfaction among cancer patients following counseling in German psychosocial cancer counseling centers · 2026 · DOI

  • Consequently, some participants may have underreported their sexual dysfunction or felt uncomfortable providing precise answers to the ASEX items.

    Body esteem and sexual life in Turkish patients with cancer · 2026 · DOI

  • Interpretation of physical activity outcomes is further limited by the use of self-reported physical activity measures, which are prone to recall and social desirability bias and may have resulted in overestimation of activity levels and inflation of observed effect sizes.

    Delivering prehabilitation in cancer surgery: a service evaluation at Nottingham University Hospitals · 2026 · DOI

  • The small sample size of this study, in which all participants were recruited from a tertiary hospital in Henan Province, China, is not generalizable, and what they experienced may not be representative of those living in other parts of the world or receiving oncology treatment at other hospitals.

    From diagnosis to daily realities: longitudinal phenomenological exploration of symptom trajectories in glioma survivorship · 2026 · DOI

  • Personalized nursing interventions integrating PNI Biomarkers are increasingly acknowledged as crucial in tailoring nursing care to individual immune and psychological needs. Precision nursing applies these markers to enhance clinical decision-making based on patient-specific characteristics.

    Beyond tumor biology: nursing interventions for psychological and immune health in cancer patients · 2026 · DOI

  • Without standardized protocols, patients may undertrain, gaining little physiological benefit, or overtrain, thereby increasing fatigue and perioperative risk.

    Physical exercise set as part of multimodal prehabilitation plan in patients with gynecological cancer undergoing abdominal cytoreductive surgery · 2026 · DOI

  • Some women experienced long periods of the outcomes, especially sick leave and disability, while most had no weeks with the event. Notably, the estimates from the negative binomial regression cannot be interpreted as individual-level risks or as the expected experience of a typical breast cancer survivor.

    Socioeconomic differences in labour market attachment after breast cancer: a population-based matched cohort study · 2026 · DOI

  • Integrating Physiatry and Palliative Care in Outpatient Oncology: A Clinical Framework for Bidirectional Referral and Co-Management Emmanuel G. Villalpando 1, Jamie Fertal 2, Finly Zachariah 3, Jeannine M. Brant 4 and Jessica T.

    Integrating Physiatry and Palliative Care in Outpatient Oncology: A Clinical Framework for Bidirectional Referral and Co-Management · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite these limitations, this study provides valuable insights…

    Revealing relationships: The role of self-disclosure and marital intimacy in the post-traumatic growth of cervical cancer patients-A qualitative study · 2026 · DOI

  • This study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the determinants of self-management among gastrointestinal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

    Determinants of self-management among gastrointestinal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: a structural equation modeling analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • These findings support further investigation of psychobiotic supplementation as a non-invasive adjunctive strategy for HR-QoL support in gastrointestinal oncology.

    Longitudinal Trajectories of Physical and Mental Health-Related Quality of Life Following Psychobiotic Supplementation in Gastrointestinal Oncology Patients: A Post Hoc Analysis of the ProDeCa Study · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Cancer survivorship and care

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Future work should focus on a phased evaluation for this framework moving from structured content validation to implementation and outcome evaluation according to implementation science models (“Integrating Physiatry and Palliative Care in Outpatient Oncology: A Clinical…”, 2026); (2) Further research is needed to explore the factors influencing FCR among breast cancer survivors (“A photo elicitation study of fear of cancer recurrence and support needs among…”, 2026); (3) Most of the included studies did not report treatment stage or disease severity in lung cancer patients; therefore, it remains unclear how these interventions can be tailored to specific patient subgroups (“Comparative efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine-based non-pharmacological…”, 2026); (4) This lack of standardized, tumor-specific rehabilitation protocols contributes to variability in clinical practice and underlines the urgent need for more rigorous and focused guideline development (“Rehabilitation in patients with primary brain tumors: a scoping review of…”, 2026); (5) Future research should focus on providing the required technology to a broader spectrum of older adults to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of this type of virtual intervention for those with lower technology proficiency (“A pilot randomized controlled trial comparing the feasibility and preliminary…”, 2026). 1,595 gap statements have been mined from Cancer survivorship and care papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 7,611 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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