Abstract
As survival rates for childhood cancer have improved, there has been
increasing focus on identifying and addressing adverse impacts of cancer
and its treatment on children and their families during treatment and
into survivorship. The Behavioral Science Committee (BSC) of the
Children’s Oncology Group (COG), comprised of psychologists,
neuropsychologists, social workers, nurses, physicians, and clinical
research associates, aims to improve the lives of children with cancer
and their families through research and dissemination of empirically
supported knowledge. Key achievements of the BSC include enhanced
interprofessional collaboration through integration of liaisons into
other key committees within COG, successful measurement of critical
neurocognitive outcomes through standardized neurocognitive assessment
strategies, contributions to evidence-based guidelines, and optimization
of patient-reported outcome measurement. The collection of
neurocognitive and behavioral data continues to be an essential function
of the BSC, in the context of therapeutic trials that are modifying
treatments to maximize event-free survival, minimize adverse outcomes,
and optimize quality of life. In addition, through hypothesis-driven
research and multi-disciplinary collaborations, the BSC will also begin
to prioritize initiatives to expand the systematic collection of
predictive factors (e.g., social determinants of health) and
psychosocial outcomes, with overarching goals of addressing health
inequities in cancer care and outcomes, and promoting evidence-based
interventions to improve outcomes for all children, adolescents, and
young adults with cancer.