Plenary Session - The New Face of Cancer: Supporting Younger Adults Across the Care Continuum

The incidence of cancer among younger adults under 50 years is steadily increasing, with particularly sharp rises in female breast, colorectal, kidney, and uterine cancers. These patients face distinct clinical, biological, and psychosocial challenges that differ significantly from those encountered in older adults. It is important for members of the oncology care team to increase their knowledge about the rising incidence of cancer in younger adults and the unique challenges that affect the care of these individuals.

Target Audience

This program is designed to meet the educational needs of physicians/oncologists, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, and other health care professionals who manage patients with cancer.

Learning Objectives

Following this activity, participants should be able to: 

  • Describe current trends in cancer incidence among younger adults and review contributing factors.
  • Recognize the unique challenges faced by younger adults with cancer and implement evidence-based approaches to optimize treatment of these individuals.
  • Integrate into practice strategies to implement support services to improve the quality of life of younger adults with cancer throughout the care continuum.
Additional information
Supporters: 

This educational activity is supported by educational grants from: AstraZeneca; Exact Sciences; Johnson & Johnson; Novartis; PharmaEssentia; Puma Biotechnology; Recordati Rare Disease Inc.; Revolution Medicines; Sirtex; Taiho Oncology, Inc.

This educational activity is supported by independent medical educational grants from: AbbVie; ADC Therapeutics; GSK

Supported by independent educational grants from: Blue Earth Diagnostics; Daiichi Sankyo; Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA

This activity is supported by an independent medical educational grant from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

This educational activity is supported by a medical education grant from Exelixis, Inc.

This project has been made possible in part by a grant from Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company. 

Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.25 AAPA Category 1 CME credit
  • 1.25 ACPE contact hours
  • 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 1.25 ANCC contact hours
  • 1.25 Participation
Course opens: 
06/15/2026
Course expires: 
03/01/2027
Part of: 
Recorded Presentations from the NCCN 2026 Annual Conference

Moderator

Christopher H. Lieu, MD
University of Colorado Cancer Center
 
Panelists
 
Anjali Albanese, MSW, LSW, OSW-C
Fox Chase Cancer Center
 
Leidy L. Isenalumhe, MD, MS
Moffitt Cancer Center

Larissa Nekhlyudov, MD, MPH
Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center
 
Stephanie Samolovitch, MSW
Young Adults Survivors United
 
NCCN Continuing Education Disclosure Policy
 
It is the policy of NCCN that all planners, faculty, moderators, authors, reviewers and anyone involved in the planning and delivery of NCCN continuing education activities are expected to disclose ALL financial relationships they have had in the past 24 months with ineligible companies. The ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence require that individuals who refuse to provide this information will be disqualified from involvement in the planning and implementation of accredited continuing education presented by NCCN. NCCN identifies, mitigates and discloses to learners all relevant financial relationships.

In addition, all content has been reviewed to ensure education promotes safe, effective patient care and does not promote the products or services of an ineligible company. Content, including any presentation of therapeutic options, is fair, balanced, evidence-based, scientifically accurate, and free of commercial bias and marketing. 

Definitions  

Ineligible Company: An ineligible company is any entity whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. 

Relevant Financial Relationships: Financial relationships of any dollar amount occurring within the past 24 months are defined as relevant if the educational content an individual can control is related to the business lines or products of an ineligible company. There is no minimum financial threshold. We ask for disclosure of ALL financial relationships with ineligible companies, regardless of the amount and regardless of the potential relevance of each relationship to the education.

Faculty Disclaimers  

All faculty for this continuing education activity are competent in the subject matter and qualified by experience, training, and/or preparation for the tasks and methods of delivery. Faculty presentations may include discussion of off-label use. Faculty will disclose that the use in question is not currently approved by the FDA per the product labeling or marketing.

Faculty Disclosures

The faculty listed below have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.

Anjali Albanese, MSW, LSW, OSW-C
Larissa Nekhlyudov, MD, MPH
Stephanie Samolovitch, MSW

The faculty listed below have the following relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose. All of the relevant financial relationships listed for these individuals have been mitigated. 

Leidy L. Isenalumhe, MD, MS
Amgen Inc.: Consulting Fee
Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Consulting Fee 

Christopher H. Lieu, MD
Pfizer Inc.: Consulting Fee 

NCCN Staff Disclosures

The planners listed below have the following relevant relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose. All of the relevant financial relationships listed for these individuals have been mitigated.

Crystal S. Denlinger, MD
AbbVie, Inc.: Grant/Research Support
Bluebird bio: Grant/Research Support
Bristol Myers Squibb: Grant/Research Support
Eli Lilly and Company: Grant/Research Support
Genentech, Inc.: Grant/Research Support
GSK: Grant/Research Support
Pfizer Inc.: Grant/Research Support
Sanofi: Grant/Research Support
 
None of the other planners for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. 
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In support of improving patient care, National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Physicians
NCCN designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. 

Nurses
NCCN designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.25 contact hours. 

Pharmacists
NCCN designates this knowledge-based continuing education activity for 1.25 contact hours (0.125 CEUs) of continuing education credit. UAN: JA4008196-0000-26-045-H01-P

Physician Assistants
NCCN has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 1.25 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. Approval is valid until March 1, 2027. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.

Available Credit

  • 1.25 AAPA Category 1 CME credit
  • 1.25 ACPE contact hours
  • 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 1.25 ANCC contact hours
  • 1.25 Participation
Please login or register to take this course.

Required Hardware/software

To complete this activity, users will need: 

  • A device with an Internet connection and sound playback capability (speakers or a headset) 
  • Adobe Reader or other PDF reader software for certificate viewing/printing