An adult who survived cancer during his/her childhood is three times as likely to experience long-term chronic illness than an adult who never had cancer, say researchers from the USA. The researchers found that adult childhood cancer survivors had an eight-fold higher risk of eventually having a life-threatening or severe illness than an adult who never had cancer.
You can read about this study in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
As new therapies appear, childhood cancer patients now have a 80% chance of surviving and recovering.
The scientists examined data on 10,397 adults who had had cancer when they were children (between 1970 – 1986). They also examined data on 3,034 of these childhood cancer survivors’ siblings – none of which had had cancer when they were children.
They found that adult childhood cancer survivors were much more likely to have a second cancer, heart problems, kidney disease, osteoporosis, musculoskeletal problems and fertility problems, when compared to their siblings. The highest risks were among survivors of bone tumors, CNS tumours and Hodgkin’s disease. Female childhood cancer survivors were at greater risk of long-term health problems than male childhood cancer survivors, said the researchers.
The scientists found that:
— 62.3% of the childhood cancer survivors went on to have at least one chronic condition
— 27.5% of the childhood cancer survivors went on to have a severe or life-threatening condition
As these adults had survived childhood cancers during the 1970s and 1980s, the authors of the study believe children currently being treated for cancer will face lower risks. This is because current cancer treatments are different.
“Chronic Health Conditions in Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer”
Kevin C. Oeffinger, M.D., Ann C. Mertens, Ph.D., Charles A. Sklar, M.D., Toana Kawashima, M.S., Melissa M. Hudson, M.D., Anna T. Meadows, M.D., Debra L. Friedman, M.D., Neyssa Marina, M.D., Wendy Hobbie, C.P.N.P., Nina S. Kadan-Lottick, M.D., Cindy L. Schwartz, M.D., Wendy Leisenring, Sc.D., Leslie L. Robison, Ph.D., for the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study
NEJM Volume 355:1572-1582 October 12, 2006 Number 15
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today