(Press-News.org) A groundbreaking new study from the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology aims to test whether digital tools and chatbot technology can help young adult cancer survivors get the genetic counseling they need to better understand future health risks to themselves and family members.
Led by Alliance Study Chair Angela Bradbury, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, the AYA ACCESS (Alliance A232301CD) study will enroll participants to study ways to address longstanding gaps in genetic services for adolescents and young adults (AYA) aged 18 to 39, who often receive care in community settings with limited access to genetic specialists. Research shows that more than 10% of AYAs have familial predispositions to cancer in their DNA, yet many do not receive recommended genetic testing due to barriers such as geographic distance, lack of provider knowledge, and limited time for screening.
“For adolescent and young adult cancer survivors, genetic counseling is critical to understanding future risk they may have of developing chronic health conditions or additional cancers as a result of their initial illness or treatments,” said Dr. Bradbury. “This study is designed to meet AYAs where they are. By integrating digital tools like chatbots and remote genetic counseling, we hope to remove logistical and emotional barriers that prevent young patients and their family members from accessing potentially life-saving genetic information.”
According to the National Cancer Institute, about 85,000 AYAs are diagnosed with cancer each year in the U.S. In addition to the unique biological and psychological needs of patients in this age group, many AYAs receive their care in settings either focused on young children or older adults, often causing this age group to feel left out of follow-up care.
“AYA cancer patients deserve equitable access to precision medicine,” said Alliance Study Co-Chair Tara Henderson, MD, PhD, Chair of Pediatrics at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “This trial could redefine how genetic services are delivered in community settings and improve outcomes for the many thousands of young adult cancer survivors who can expect to live decades beyond their initial diagnosis and recovery.”
The trial will enroll 465 AYA cancer patients from community oncology practices across the U.S. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two arms:
Standard Arm: Remote genetic counseling via telehealth with a certified genetic counselor.
Intervention Arm: Enhanced eHealth model featuring digital pre-test education and a chatbot (“Genetics Journey”) that guides patients through the process, answers questions, and provides reminders.
Both arms will include genetic testing and post-test counseling, with services provided by the Penn Telegenetics Program. The study will evaluate whether the enhanced model increases uptake of genetic counseling and testing, while maintaining or improving patient outcomes such as knowledge, emotional well-being, and cost-effectiveness.
Key innovations to be studied include tailored chatbot technology designed to engage AYAs with personalized, accessible communication that improves follow-through. Participants will also receive digital education tools that allow AYAs to learn at their own pace, revisit content, and choose online quiz options.
The AYA ACCESS study is supported by the National Cancer Institute’s Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) and will be conducted in collaboration with ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, NRG Oncology, SWOG Cancer Research Network, and the Children’s Oncology Group.
# # #
Reference: Alliance A232301CD: AYA Access study: An enhanced eHealth and chat-bot enabled delivery model for clinical genetic services in community AYA cancer patients. A full description of this clinical trial can be found at https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07091617.
The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology is a national leader in advancing cancer research, uniting more than 25,000 cancer specialists at 115 main institutions and 1,400 affiliates across the U.S. and Canada. As part of the National Clinical Trials Network and a leading research base for the NCI Community Oncology Research Program, the Alliance conducts pioneering, practice-changing clinical trials that improve outcomes and reshape standards of care. Our work has led to multiple FDA approvals, influenced national guidelines, and produced hundreds of high-impact publications. More than 40,000 participants have taken part in Alliance studies, and our growing biospecimen repository now includes more than 1.5 million samples, collected over the past 30 years. Learn more at www.AllianceforClinicalTrialsinOncology.org.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is a nonprofit organization committed to providing access to exceptional care for every child. It is the only independent, research-driven children’s hospital in Illinois and one of less than 35 nationally. This is where the top doctors go to train, practice pediatric medicine, teach, advocate, research and stay up to date on the latest treatments. Exclusively focused on children, all Lurie Children’s resources are devoted to serving their needs. Research at Lurie Children’s is conducted through Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, which is focused on improving child health, transforming pediatric medicine and ensuring healthier futures through the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Lurie Children’s is the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. It is ranked as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report.
END
Can digital health tools help younger cancer survivors better predict future health risks?
2025-09-30
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Scientists uncover room-temperature route to improved light-harvesting and emission devices
2025-09-30
HOUSTON – (Sept. 30, 2025) – Atoms in crystalline solids sometimes vibrate in unison, giving rise to emergent phenomena known as phonons. Because these collective vibrations set the pace for how heat and energy move through materials, they play a central role in devices that capture or emit light, like solar cells and LEDs.
A team of researchers from Rice University and collaborators have found a way to make two different phonons in thin films of lead halide perovskite interact with light so strongly that they merge into entirely ...
Intergovernmental platform on biodiversity issues an urgent call to stem decline of nature
2025-09-30
Human-caused biodiversity loss has accelerated over the past fifty years. An opinion article published September 30th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by a team of renowned international authors, including Anne Larigauderie, former Executive Secretary of Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), concludes that stopping biodiversity loss is contingent on transformative social and cultural changes across multiple scales.
The IPBES Transformative Change Assessment is a 2024 report prepared by an interdisciplinary group of nearly 100 scientists and holders of Indigenous and local knowledge. It aims to inform the implementation ...
New AI tool scans social media for hidden health risks
2025-09-30
A new artificial intelligence tool can scan social media data to discover adverse events associated with consumer health products, according to a study published September 30th in the open-access journal PLOS Digital Health by John Ayers of the University of California, San Diego, U.S., and colleagues.
The constant post-market surveillance of the safety of consumer products is crucial for public health and safety. However, current adverse-event reporting systems for approved prescription medications and medical devices depend on voluntary submissions from doctors and manufactures to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The rapid growth ...
Johns Hopkins researchers show novel immune system boost helps fight cancer cells
2025-09-30
In experiments with mouse models of breast, pancreatic, and muscle cancers, researchers at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital report new evidence that a novel means of boosting the natural immune system prevents cancer recurrence and improves survival.
The study, published Sept. 2 in Nature Immunology, was federally funded by the National Cancer Institute/NIH.
Malignant tumors are often described as immune-suppressive or “immune cold,” meaning the patient’s immune system does not recognize or attack ...
AI model for imaging-based extranodal extension detection and outcome prediction in HPV−positive oropharyngeal cancer
2025-09-30
About The Study: This single-center cohort study found that an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pipeline can successfully automate lymph node segmentation and imaging-based extranodal extension (iENE) classification from pretreatment computed tomography scans in human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal carcinoma. Predicted iENE was independently associated with worse oncologic outcomes. External validation is required to assess generalizability and the potential for implementation in institutions ...
Frequent wildfires, heat intensify air quality issues in American megacities such as New York City
2025-09-30
Air quality in America’s largest cities has steadily improved thanks to tighter regulations on key sources of particulate pollution. However, increased heat, wildfire smoke and other emerging global drivers of urban aerosol pollution are now combining to create a new set of challenges for public health officials tasked with protecting millions of people on the East Coast.
Research from Colorado State University published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science begins to unpack and characterize these developing relationships against the backdrop of New York City. The research quantifies how existing particulate pollution from sources such as vehicle exhaust or consumer products are ...
Doctors and nurses are better than AI at triaging patients
2025-09-30
Vienna, Austria: Doctors and nurses are better at triaging patients in emergency departments than artificial intelligence (AI), according to research presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress today (Tuesday) [1].
However, Dr Renata Jukneviciene, a postdoctoral researcher at Vilnius University, Lithuania, who presented the study, said that AI could be useful when used in conjunction with clinical staff, but should not be used as a stand-alone triage tool.
“We conducted this study to address the growing issue of overcrowding in the emergency department and the escalating workload of nurses,” ...
Scientists solve mystery of loop current switching in kagome metals
2025-09-30
Quantum metals are metals where quantum effects—behaviors that normally only matter at atomic scales—become powerful enough to control the metal's macroscopic electrical properties.
Researchers in Japan have explained how electricity behaves in a special group of quantum metals called kagome metals. The study is the first to show how weak magnetic fields reverse tiny loop electrical currents inside these metals. This switching changes the material's macroscopic electrical properties and reverses which direction has easier electrical flow, a property ...
Reaction-induced restructuring of CoOx species to control selectivity in propane dehydrogenation
2025-09-30
Propene is one of the most important basic petrochemicals widely used for the production of polypropylene, solvents, acrylic acid, etc. The conventional routes for the manufacture of this building block include steam or fluid catalytic cracking of different oil fractions, methanol to olefin and non-oxidative propane dehydrogenation (PDH). The PDH approach has been attracting increasing attention because of the shale gas revolution. This reaction is carried out on a large scale using highly expensive or environmentally unfriendly Pt- or Cr-containing catalysts. Co-based catalysts are of particular interest due to their excellent ability to selectively activate C-H bonds in various alkanes.
It ...
Beneath the ice: spring sunlight triggers photoinhibition and recovery in lake Akan Marimo
2025-09-30
The marimo (Aegagropila brownii), a nationally designated Special Natural Monument of Japan, inhabits Lake Akan in Hokkaido, where environmental conditions fluctuate drastically with the seasons. Of particular concern is the period immediately after ice melt in early spring, when low water temperatures coincide with strong sunlight, posing a risk of severe damage to photosynthetic activity.
In this study, a research team led by the Astrobiology Center conducted a detailed assessment of marimo photosynthetic performance during this critical transition period, combining field observations ...