Clinical Trials

The concept of the ‘adolescent and young adult (AYA) gap’ in relation to recruitment to cancer clinical trials was first described in 1997. The ‘AYA gap’ refers to the association between lesser survival gains and poorer recruitment to cancer clinical trials for this group. Since then, many countries have reported lesser involvement of AYAs in cancer trials compared to children and older adults. Lately a number of initiatives have served to improve recruitment for AYAs with cancer, and barriers and facilitators to recruitment have been identified. This chapter summarises the concept of clinical trials and some of the challenges faced by AYAs with cancer and the healthcare teams caring for them.