DrDarren Haywood

Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is a highly disruptive condition that affects thinking and memory ability in up to 75% of individuals diagnosed with cancer which significantly compromises quality of life, daily functioning, and psychosocial wellbeing. I have built an impactful program of research to address the critical gaps in assessment and care for people with CRCI.

A defining achievement of my work, as the inaugural Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) Cognition Fellow, is developing the first and only unmet psychosocial needs assessment tool for CRCI, the MASCC COG-IMPACT (https://tinyurl.com/m2vch45j). Prior to this, cancer survivors experiencing CRCI lacked access to personalised supportive care, as no tool existed to capture the unique psychosocial challenges associated with their impairment. I was the first globally to theorise (PMID: 37407422: FWCI=8.6) and demonstrate (PMID: 38001592: FWCI=3.5) that CRCI care must be guided by unmet psychosocial needs, rather than cognitive impairment severity alone.

The MASCC COG-IMPACT (PMID:39853439; FWCI=5.3) is now an internationally endorsed and implemented clinical tool, formally branded MASCC and endorsed by the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA; PMID:40801428; FWCI=21.8). It has been distributed to 33 MASCC Centres of Excellence across >15 countries. It has also been embedded as a ‘Recommended Assessment Tool’ in the Optimal Care Pathway (OCP) for Older People with Cancer, demonstrating direct influence on national standards of care. This work was central to me receiving the 2025 MASCC Emerging Investigator Award in Seattle, USA (1 of only 2 ever Australian winners).