Current state and future prospects of research on fear of cancer recurrence

Despite a rapidly growing research interest in fear of cancer recurrence, lack of consensus on definition and measurement including clinical fear of cancer recurrence, sparse model development and testing, and limited available clinical interventions have impeded knowledge transfer into patient services. To move forward, a 2-day colloquium was held in Ottawa, Canada in August 2015 to progress knowledge and identify future research directions. A comprehensive research program was proposed, including development of a clinical definition, an updated review of screening measures, and a review of existing interventions. A new special interest group was created with the International Psychosocial Oncology Society to facilitate the implementation of this research program and future international collaborations.