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Caring for Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

  • Pediatric Malignancies
  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Opinion statement

Improved survival for pediatric oncology patients is a remarkable achievement of modern medicine. This success can be credited to the introduction of multimodality therapy and newer risk-based therapies developed and tested through national research protocols. With improved survival has come recognition of the many long-term effects of cancer and its treatment, such as vital organ dysfunction, subsequent malignancies, and psychosocial deficits. Childhood cancer survivors are vulnerable to adverse health outcomes which may not become apparent until years after therapy. These events may manifest well into adulthood when these individuals rarely return to their initial cancer center or seek preventive medical care. Risk-based follow-up can offer early detection and/or intervention and provides an opportunity to reduce cancer-related morbidity and mortality. An understanding of the late effects of cancer therapy is increasingly important for the medical community, both generalists and specialists—adult and pediatric, to better care for the growing population of adult survivors of childhood cancer.

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Mulrooney was supported by the National Institute of Health K12 program (Grant 1K12RR023247, R. V. Luepker, MD, Principal Investigator), Bethesda, MD and the Children’s Cancer Research Fund, Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Hudson was supported in part by the Cancer Center Support (CORE) Grant CA 21765 from the National Cancer Institute and by the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Cancer Center, Mayo Mail Code 484, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Daniel A. Mulrooney MD, MS & Joseph P. Neglia MD, MPH

  2. University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Memphis, TN, 38163, USA

    Melissa M. Hudson MD

  3. Department of Oncology, Division of Cancer Survivorship, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Mailstop 735, 332 North Lauderdale, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA

    Melissa M. Hudson MD

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  1. Daniel A. Mulrooney MD, MS
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  2. Joseph P. Neglia MD, MPH
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  3. Melissa M. Hudson MD
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Correspondence to Daniel A. Mulrooney MD, MS.

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Mulrooney, D.A., Neglia, J.P. & Hudson, M.M. Caring for Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer. Curr. Treat. Options in Oncol. 9, 51–66 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11864-008-0054-4

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