{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,6]],"date-time":"2026-04-06T20:19:05Z","timestamp":1775506745586,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,25]],"date-time":"2025-02-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1740441600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Digit. Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Pediatric and adolescent\/young adult (AYA) cancer patients face profound psychological challenges, exacerbated by limited access to continuous mental health support. While conventional therapeutic interventions often follow structured protocols, the potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to provide continuous conversational support remains unexplored. This study evaluates the feasibility and impact of AI chatbots in alleviating psychological distress and enhancing treatment engagement in this vulnerable population.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Two age-appropriate AI chatbots, leveraging GPT-4, were developed to provide natural, empathetic conversations without structured therapeutic protocols. Five pediatric and AYA cancer patients participated in a two-week intervention, engaging with the chatbots via a messaging platform. Pre- and post-intervention anxiety and stress levels were self-reported, and usage patterns were analyzed to assess the chatbots\u2019 effectiveness.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Four out of five participants reported significant reductions in anxiety and stress levels post-intervention. Participants engaged with the chatbot every 2\u20133 days, with sessions lasting approximately 10\u2005min. All participants noted improved treatment motivation, with 80% disclosing personal concerns to the chatbot they had not shared with healthcare providers. The 24\/7 availability particularly benefited patients experiencing nighttime anxiety.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>This pilot study demonstrates the potential of generative AI chatbots to complement traditional mental health services by addressing unmet psychological needs in pediatric and AYA cancer patients. The findings suggest these tools can serve as accessible, continuous support systems. Further large-scale studies are warranted to validate these promising results.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fdgth.2025.1543543","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,25]],"date-time":"2025-02-25T06:53:10Z","timestamp":1740466390000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":18,"title":["Empowering pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients with cancer utilizing generative AI chatbots to reduce psychological burden and enhance treatment engagement: a pilot study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Joe","family":"Hasei","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Mana","family":"Hanzawa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Akihito","family":"Nagano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Naoko","family":"Maeda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Shinichirou","family":"Yoshida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Makoto","family":"Endo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Nobuhiko","family":"Yokoyama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Motoharu","family":"Ochi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Hisashi","family":"Ishida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Hideki","family":"Katayama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Tomohiro","family":"Fujiwara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Eiji","family":"Nakata","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ryuichi","family":"Nakahara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Toshiyuki","family":"Kunisada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Hirokazu","family":"Tsukahara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Toshifumi","family":"Ozaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/2020.10.30.20223271","article-title":"Social relationships and patient-reported outcomes in adolescent and young adult cancer survivors","author":"Gautam Poudel","year":"2020","journal-title":"medRxiv."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"859","DOI":"10.1200\/CCI.21.00044","article-title":"Online platform to assess complex social relationships and patient-reported outcomes among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors","volume":"5","author":"Poudel","year":"2021","journal-title":"JCO Clin Cancer Inform"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e23165","DOI":"10.1200\/JCO.2019.37.15_suppl.e23165","article-title":"What type of information is needed by AYA cancer survivors in Japan?","volume":"37","author":"Yamaki","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Clin Ortho JCO"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6429","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.onc.1207717","article-title":"Epidemiology and genetics of childhood cancer","volume":"23","author":"Stiller","year":"2004","journal-title":"Oncogene"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"216","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejcsup.2013.07.009","article-title":"Anxiety and sleep disorders in cancer patients","volume":"11","author":"Die Trill","year":"2013","journal-title":"EJC Suppl"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.23937\/2572-4037.1510062","article-title":"ChatGPT (generated pre-trained transformer) as an adjunct to mental health interventions: a commentary","volume":"9","author":"Villarino","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int J Psychol Psychoanal"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"592","DOI":"10.1111\/pcn.13588","article-title":"The now and future of ChatGPT and GPT in psychiatry","volume":"77","author":"Cheng","year":"2023","journal-title":"Psychiatry Clin Neurosci"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"662","DOI":"10.1001\/jamapsychiatry.2023.1253","article-title":"Global mental health services and the impact of artificial intelligence\u2013powered large language models","volume":"80","author":"van Heerden","year":"2023","journal-title":"JAMA Psychiatry"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"205","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-54173-6_17","article-title":"Human-Robot interactions and affective computing: the ethical implications","volume-title":"Robotics, AI, and Humanity Science, Ethics, and Policy","author":"Devillers","year":"2021"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.26420\/anndepressanxiety.2021.1107","article-title":"Bot to the rescue? 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