[Return to work for cancer patients]

Return to work is a public health priority which led the French Health Authority to publish recommendations about "return to work and health: prevention of exclusion from work". The aim of this article is to present a literature review of return to work after cancer. Studies about medium-term and long-term effects of cancer are sparse. They suggest worker durable effects. Factors associated with return to work are linked to the patient characteristics, to characteristics of the illness and the treatment, to the workplace and to the help provided to the patient during the return to work process. A specific plan for returning to work in 3 phases (situation comprehension, identification of negative and positive factors for returning to work, implementation of measures concerning the patient, the workplace and the coordination between return to work actors) should be built for each patient, involving the worker, the occupational practitioner, the general and specialist practitioners.