| Program Head: Dr Richard Cohn (biography)
RESEARCH AREAS
Following cancer survivors beyond the paediatric age group
Knowledge about survivors helps tailor treatment
Decreasing long-term complications in survivors
The cancer journey for the child with cancer starts with the diagnosis of cancer and primary intervention to treat the cancer. Treatment is given based on the cancer type and host-related risk factors. Today, about 80% of children diagnosed with cancer during childhood can realistically hope for long-term survival, which we define as five or more years from diagnosis. During these first five years after diagnosis, a major emphasis is placed on the detection of acute complications of therapy and monitoring for disease recurrence. Of those patients alive and disease free at five years post-diagnosis, 90% will be alive and free of their disease at 15 years post-diagnosis and it is presumed they will have a normal life expectancy.
The higher mortality in childhood cancer survivors when compared to age-matched peers is accounted for by disease recurrence (66%), the development of second cancers, and treatment-related organ-toxicity, in particular the heart and lungs. Among long-term survivors, 70% have one or more life-altering chronic health conditions, such as infertility, neurocognitive deficits, short stature, hearing or vision loss and low-grade second cancers. Recent research has shown that in this group of patients, obesity, immunodeficiency, and gonadal hypofunction can, over many years, predispose these individuals to life-threatening medical conditions such as ischemic heart disease and stroke. |
