JMIR Cancer

Digital health interventions are increasingly being integrated into oncological care to support patients in managing treatment-related symptoms and psychological distress. In a randomized controlled pilot trial, we investigated the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a digital health app (SOFIA) among patients with cancer, including those in palliative care. SOFIA consists of an electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) assessment and coaching component. We showed good feasibility and high acceptability of SOFIA in routine clinical care.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States; however, uptake of lung cancer screening (LCS) with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) among eligible individuals remains low. Evidence suggests that limited knowledge, stigma, and false health beliefs contribute to the underuse of LDCT screening.

Focal high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is an emerging tissue-preserving treatment for localized prostate cancer (PCa) that aims to reduce functional impairment and psychological burden while maintaining oncological safety. Although its clinical use is increasing, prospective data on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and psychological distress after focal hemiablation remain limited.

Older survivors of cancer face heightened risk of depression and anxiety related to cancer experiences, fear of recurrence, and aging-related difficulties. Conventional mental health monitoring approaches, such as clinical assessments and even electronic patient-reported outcomes, are limited by recall bias, patient burden, and infrequent data collection. Emerging patient-generated health data from wearables and smart home devices offer passive, low-burden, continuous monitoring, but their ability to capture mental health risks in older survivors of cancer remains unclear.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian women, bringing complex demands for timely decision-making, coordination of multidisciplinary care, and efficient communication between patients and providers. The increasing reliance on fragmented and noninteroperable health information systems exacerbates workflow and documentation burdens, leading to inefficiencies and gaps in continuity of care. While nurse navigation programs partially bridge these gaps, most digital platforms remain poorly integrated into provider workflows, requiring manual tracking, which results in duplicated effort and reduced efficiency. Our team developed “MyJourney” at North York General Hospital (NYGH) in Ontario. It is a digital navigation platform that supports breast cancer care throughout the entire continuum, from diagnosis to survivorship.

Consumer smartwatches offer potential for continuous monitoring of physical activity during childhood cancer treatment. However, their validity for measuring step count and heart rate in this population has not been established.

Endocrine therapy is a fundamental treatment for hormone receptor–positive breast cancer. However, treatment-related symptoms may lead to poor adherence and premature discontinuation, adversely affecting clinical outcomes. eHealth technology interventions have been widely applied as potential tools to support patient education, symptom management, and adherence.

Despite the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine being available to males for the past 12 years, adolescent males continue to lag in HPV vaccine uptake due to a variety of factors. With the ubiquitous nature of social media use among this population, further research is needed to improve HPV vaccine confidence among young adolescent males using these platforms.

With increasing numbers of survivors with cancer, the importance of patient-centered information provision and communication to alleviate psychological burdens, such as anxiety and depression, is growing. However, substantial individual differences exist in patients with cancer information–seeking behaviors and use of support services, and few studies have comprehensively examined cognitive and psychological factors such as treatment status, sex, trust in information sources, and patient-provider relationships.

Despite a global decline in the incidence of gastric cancer (GC), the number of cases diagnosed among younger individuals continues to increase. Several studies have been conducted to develop predictive models of mortality in patients with GC.

Consumer fitness tracker devices offer scalable opportunities to monitor real-world behavior and support health in cancer survivorship. However, adoption and sustained use outside structured research settings remain incompletely characterized, limiting their integration into survivorship care.

Approximately 80% of breast cancers are estrogen receptor positive, and following initial tumor treatment, patients are prescribed hormone therapy (HT) drugs (tamoxifen, letrozole, anastrozole, and exemestane) for 5-10 years. These drugs are known to cause several side effects. Additionally, a small number of studies have identified that changing medication brands (generics) can negatively affect patients’ side effects, attitudes, and acceptance of HT. However, no effective intervention currently exists to address patients’ concerns about generic switching.