Childhood Cancer Survivors At Risk
Reported May 29, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Childhood cancer survivors are significantly more likely to develop cancer again later in life than the general population, according to a new study.
The study followed cancer survivors from birth up to age 79, one of the few studies to examine the risk over the course of a lifetime.
Danish researchers analyzed the health records of 47,697 people who were first diagnosed with cancer before the age of 20 and found that the risk for developing a new primary cancer was statistically significant in all age groups.
Researchers also found male survivors were much more likely than females to develop a second cancer, and for both sexes, most of the second cancers occurred in the brain.
The researchers said their results could be useful in the screening and long-term care of childhood cancer survivors.
SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published online on May 26, 2009