David R. Freyer, DO, MS

Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Medicine and Population and Public Health Sciences

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Overview

David R. Freyer, DO, MS is Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Medicine, and Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC). He currently serves as Director of the Survivorship and Supportive Care Program in the Cancer and Blood Disease Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), and as Director of the Cancer Survivorship Program and Co-Director of the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Program at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is founding Co-Director of the Southern California Center for Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research, now a three-institution, multi-state research collaborative focused on all aspects of young adult cancer survivorship, including health disparities.

Dr. Freyer’s clinical care and research are concentrated in cancer survivorship, cancer control/supportive care, and AYA oncology with interests in treatment-related toxicity, survivorship care transition, cancer care disparities, and patient-reported outcomes. He continues as PI or Co-I on multiple, federally funded grants in these areas. From 2009-2019 he served as Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) AYA Oncology Discipline Committee and continues as an active investigator in this and other COG committees. In 2018, Dr. Freyer was honored with the Robert M. McAllister Faculty Mentoring Award in the Keck School of Medicine at USC. In 2023, Dr. Freyer received an NCI Director’s Award for his role in developing and implementing AYA clinical trials in the NCI National Clinical Trials Network. For numerous consecutive years, his clinical expertise has been recognized with citations in “Best Doctors in America.” In 2025, Dr. Freyer was ordained a permanent deacon for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Research Funding

  • Patient Navigation for Improving Transition Success Among Multiply Disadvantaged Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer
    NIH · R01CA303651 · Sep 10, 2025 – Aug 31, 2029 · Role: Principal Investigator
  • Project Milestones: Young Adult Cancer Survivorship
    NIH · R01CA237230 · Jul 1, 2019 – Dec 31, 2024 · Role: Co-Principal Investigator
  • CHANGE OF GRANTEE INSTITUTION: Creating and Validating Child Adverse Event Reporting in Oncology Trials
    NIH · R01CA175759 · Apr 1, 2013 – Mar 31, 2021 · Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Publications

  • Beyond the Hospital: Understanding Psychosocial Support Uptake for Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer in Community-Based and Nonprofit Programs. Cancer Control. 2026 Jan-Dec; 33:10732748261450729.. View in PubMed
  • Availability of cancer survivorship services for adolescents and young adults: Findings from the 2022 NCI Community Oncology Research Program Landscape Assessment. J Cancer Surviv. 2026 Apr 28.. View in PubMed
  • Improving patient-clinician communication about sexual health care among cancer patients and survivors: the need for system-level resources to support clinician practice. J Commun Healthc. 2026 Apr 16; 1.. View in PubMed
  • Adherence-enhancing intervention and relapse in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results from the Children’s Oncology Group randomized trial ACCL1033. Leukemia. 2026 May; 40(5):1062-1066.. View in PubMed
  • The Development and Refinement of a Web-Based Sexual Health Education Intervention for Pediatric Oncology Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers Caring for Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2026 May; 73(5):e70200.. View in PubMed
  • Intervention Opportunities to Increase the Delivery of Guideline-Concordant Fertility Discussions for Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer. Cancer Control. 2026 Jan-Dec; 33:10732748261433282.. View in PubMed
  • Cancer Screening Uptake and Usual Source of Care Among Hispanic Survivors of Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer. J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol. 2026 04; 15(2):102-114.. View in PubMed
  • Social roles and emotional distress are associated with successful aging in adult childhood cancer survivors. Sci Rep. 2026 Feb 25; 16(1).. View in PubMed
  • Symptom burden among long-term survivors of young adult cancer: a report from the Project Milestones cohort. J Cancer Surviv. 2026 Feb 20.. View in PubMed
  • Cohort Profile: The Adolescent and Young Adult Tracking Engagement and Management Skills (AYA TEAMS) Longitudinal Cohort of Childhood Cancer Survivors in the United States. medRxiv. 2026 Feb 14.. View in PubMed