Childhood cancer survivors 5 times more likely to get cancer again: Study

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDSep 5 2010

According to a new study, children who survive cancer are at a higher risk of cancer later in life or may die early of other cause. The study included almost 900 young cancer survivors treated at Sydney Children's Hospital, from 1972 to 1999, alongside new cancer cases and early deaths. The risk of cancer was five times higher in childhood cancer survivors, the results showed, compared with the overall NSW population, that these survivors were seven and a half times more likely to die early.

According to lead researcher Dr Lesley Ashton of the Children's Cancer Institute, two-thirds of survivors will develop a related chronic health condition linked to earlier radiation-based treatments. “Good follow up and health care” for these patients is thus important. Dr Lesley Ashton is also the head of the Molecular Epidemiology Program at the Children's Cancer Institute.

In the paper published in the Medical Journal of Australia, Dr Ashton wrote, “Our results highlight that it is important for cancer survivors to be aware of the risk factors for complications of treatment and second cancers, and maintain good follow-up health care…we continue to look at how current therapies can be further improved.” Dr. Ashton explained that these survivors may develop new tumors - particularly thyroid, breast, bone or brain cancers - linked to earlier radiation-based treatments. He said the link may be in genes adding, “Previous research has shown there's an underlying genetic basis for the way patients respond to cancer treatments…This same genetic variation is likely to contribute to these long-term effects of cancer therapy. This is an area we are interested in pursuing…If we can map the genetic factors, we can develop more individualized cancer treatments that do not result in long-term health complications.”