Greater risk in middle age for child cancer survivors

Published: 05 July 2011

Cancer Research UK scientists, based at the University of Birmingham, have found that survivors of childhood cancers are four times more likely to develop a new cancer than the general population.

Health data of over 18,000 childhood cancer survivors showed that they had a greater risk in middle age of developing certain types of new cancers, predominantly of the gastrointestinal or genitourinary systems, such as bowel and kidney cancers.

Researchers found almost four times the incidence of cancer which would be expected in the same number of people in the general population. Cancer incidence was also found at a premature age: five per cent of survivors had developed a new cancer by age 38 years, compared to a general population average of 54 years to reach this same figure.

Dr Raoul Reulen, study author based in the School of Health and Population Sciences at the University of Birmingham, said: “We know that survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk of developing new cancers, but we didn’t know what the long term risks were as they reached middle age.

“By knowing the cancers that survivors are most at risk of [developing] we can focus attempts to prevent or pick up cancers earlier, hopefully helping them to be treated successfully.”

Long term risks

Most of the increased risk of developing further cancers is iatrogenic – an adverse effect of the treatments used for the original cancer. The researchers found that survivors treated 20-to-30 years ago with radiotherapy to the abdomen and pelvis were three times more likely to develop a new cancer of the digestive system.

Dr Reulen added: “The increased risk of developing new cancers in survivors is still relatively low overall, but we encourage survivors to take part in the existing screening programmes for bowel, cervical and breast cancer.”

Dr Lesley Walker, Director of Cancer Information at Cancer Research UK, said: “Treatments for childhood cancers have undergone major changes and are continually improving, leading to the greatly improved survival rates we now see. This important work will help identify earlier those childhood cancer survivors who are at greater risk of developing new cancers.

“The current treatments used today, such as radiotherapy, have been refined to focus on the tumour so are likely to result in fewer cancers in the surrounding areas. Cancer Research UK is continually looking at new treatments that will help more children survive cancer and reduce the long term effects that curative treatments can bring.”