Long-term effects of acute myeloid leukemia and its treatment Are current aftercare recommendations sufficient?

Background With the increasing number of long-term survivors after acute myeloid leukemia (AML), long-term effects of the disease and its treatment become increasingly important. Due to various factors, like the rareness of the disease, guidelines for survivorship care plans are difficult to establish on the basis of existing studies. Results Looking at various studies including cancer survivors of various cancer entities, different problem areas have already been identified in long-term survivors. Some of those can be added to the data available for AML long-term survivors. From a psychosocial point of view, higher prevalence for depression, anxiety, fatigue and financial toxicity have been observed. In addition, the risk for certain somatic comorbidities, like cardiovascular comorbidities and secondary malignancies, is increased. Conclusion Aside from regular monitoring of the remission status, psychosocial and somatic comorbidities should also be monitored by the physician when caring for long-term survivors after AML. In addition, intensive aftercare intervals should be extended further than 5 years after initial diagnosis. Future research on long-term effects of the disease is still needed to optimize care for AML long-term survivors.