The treatment of pediatric cancer has become increasingly successful. In the late 1990's, less than 70 percent of the patients survived for five years. In 2009, Dr. Daniel M. Green and colleagues reported that the five year survival rate was nearly 80 percent, and many of these children are expected to live for years. The study was published in the June 2009 issue of the "Journal of Clinical Oncology." Yet, the surviving children are not without complications. The cancer itself, together with all the cancer treatments, typically affects several areas of development from growth, to lung and cardiovascular health.
Growth
Many serious childhood diseases were shown to have a negative affect on a child's growth, states by Dr. M. L. Cepeda and colleagues, in a study published in the "Journal of the National Medical Association" in January 2000. In another study, published in the vol. 88 of "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism" in 2003, Dr. James G. Gurney and colleagues studied 921 adult survivors of childhood brain cancer. The doctors reported that almost 40 percent of their subjects were under the 10 percentile among the adult population in height and thus, were considered short stature. The risk of this reduced height was increased if the subjects received radiation during the early childhood; one of the radiated areas in the study was the hypothalamic-pituitary axis.
Pulmonary Functions
According to Dr. Ann C. Mertens and colleagues, lungs are extremely sensitive to radiation. Their study, published in the ""Cancer Journal" December 2002 states that children who were treated for cancer with lung radiation in early childhood had significantly decreased lung volume, as well as decreased chest wall growth. They also showed an increased risk for lung carcinoma, and lung fibrosis, recurrent pneumonia, chronic cough, exercise-induced shortness of breath, recurrent sinus infection, and use of supplemental oxygen, even years after the cancer treatment. The authors also reported that pulmonary toxicity that was caused by chemotherapy was linked to pulmonary fibrosis.
Cardiovascular Conditions
Dr.James G. Gurney and colleagues studied 1607 patients who had been treated for various cancer types at least five years earlier. All of them were children when they were diagnosed and treated for cancer. The study, published in January 2002 issue of the "Cancer" journal showed that the 18 percent of the subjects had at least one cardiovascular condition. These included stroke, blood clots, and angina-like symptoms.
References
- "The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism"; Final Height and Body Mass Index among Adult Survivors of Childhood Brain Cancer;J. G. Gurney et al.; vol 88, 2003
- "Cancer Journal"; Endocrine and Cardiovascular Late Effects Among Adult Survivors of Childhood Brain Tumors; J. G. Gurney et al.; Jan 2003
- "Journal of National Medical Association"; Physical Growth, Sexual Maturation, Body Image and Sickle Cell Disease; M. L. Cepeda, F. H. Allen, N. J. Cepeda, Y. M. Yang; January 2000
- "Cancer Journal"; Pulmonary Complications in Survivors of Childhood and Adolescent Cancer; Ann C. Mertens et al.; December 2002
