Biomarkers and Cognitive Function in Children and Adolescents During Maintenance Therapy for Leukemia.

Objectives: To explore the relationship between biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflmmation in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and cognitive function in children receiving maintenance therapy for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL).

Sample & Setting: 30 participants aged 4-17 years receiving ALL maintenance therapy at two pediatric cancer centers in the United States.

Methods & Variables: F2-isoprostane (F2-ISoP) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) were evaluated in CSF samples, and cognitive function measures were completed during the first and last cycles of ALL maintenance.

Childhood Cancer Symptom Cluster: Leukemia and Health-Related Quality of Life.

Objectives: To examine the relationship of the Childhood Cancer Symptom Cluster-Leukemia (CCSC-L) with health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Sample & Setting: 327 children receiving treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia from four pediatric oncology programs across the United States.

Methods & Variables: Participants completed fatigue, sleep disturbance, pain, nausea, and depression symptom questionnaires at four time points; these symptoms comprised the CCSC-L.

Patterns of Internet-based health information seeking in adult survivors of childhood cancer.

Background: To assess where, when, and why survivors of childhood cancer seek health information.

Procedure: Data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) cohort (n = 1386) and Health Information National Trends Survey (n = 2385) were analyzed to determine the health information seeking strategies of childhood cancer survivors. Descriptive frequencies, χ analyses, t-tests, and multivariable logistic regression models were used.

Health and well-being in adolescent survivors of early childhood cancer: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Objective: With the growing number of childhood cancer survivors in the US, it is important to assess the well-being of these individuals, particularly during the transitional phase of adolescence. Data about adolescent survivors' overall health and quality of life will help identify survivor subgroups most in need of targeted attention to successfully transition to adulthood.

Participants And Methods: This ancillary study to the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study focused on children 15-19 years of age who had been diagnosed with cancer before the age of 4 years.

Increasing rates of breast cancer and cardiac surveillance among high-risk survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma following a mailed, one-page survivorship care plan.

Background: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivors face substantially elevated risks of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. They and their physicians are often unaware of these risks and surveillance recommendations.

Procedure: A prospective one-arm study was conducted among a random sample of 72 HL survivors, ages 27-55 years, participating in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) who were at increased risk for breast cancer and/or cardiomyopathy and had not had a screening mammogram or echocardiogram, respectively, within the prior 2 years.

Characteristics of responders to a request for a buccal cell specimen among survivors of childhood cancer and their siblings.

Purpose: Analysis of biological samples in large cohort studies may provide insight into the mechanism of, and risk factors for, disease onset and progression.

Methods: This study describes the methods used to collect biological samples from a large multi-center cohort of childhood cancer survivors and siblings of childhood cancer survivors and evaluates the predictors of a positive response among these individuals.

Results: Among survivors, female sex, white race/ethnicity, college graduation, never smoking, accessing the healthcare system in the past 2 years, and having a second malignant neoplasm were the strongest predictors of returning a sample.

Behaviors associated with ultraviolet radiation exposure in a cohort of adult survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Background: Previous research from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) has shown that risk of skin cancer is strongly associated with exposure to radiation therapy. The potential role of ultraviolet radiation exposure in survivors has not been described.

Methods: The CCSS is a retrospective cohort study designed to investigate late effects among 5-year survivors of children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer between 1970-1986.

Cause-specific mortality and second cancer incidence after non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Second primary malignancies and premature death are a concern for patients surviving treatment for childhood lymphomas. We assessed mortality and second malignant neoplasms (SMNs) among 1082 5-year survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a multi-institutional North American retrospective cohort study of cancer survivors diagnosed from 1970 to 1986. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated using US population rates.

Stroke as a late treatment effect of Hodgkin's Disease: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Purpose: The objectives of this report are to examine the incidence of and risk factors for stroke among childhood Hodgkin's disease (HD) survivors.

Patients And Methods: The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study is a multi-institutional cohort study of more than 5-year cancer survivors diagnosed between 1970 and 1986 and a sibling comparison group. Incidence rates of stroke among HD survivors (n = 1,926) and siblings (n = 3,846) were calculated and compared.

Nonmelanoma skin cancer in survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer: a report from the childhood cancer survivor study.

Purpose: Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) has become the most common type of cancer in many populations throughout the world. Ultraviolet and ionizing radiation are known risk factors. Because NMSCs are rarely lethal and most cancer registries do not routinely report data regarding these cancers, they have received little attention in studies evaluating long-term effects of cancer therapy.

Characteristics of childhood cancer survivors predicted their successful tracing.

Objective: The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study is a retrospective cohort study that was initiated to explore late effects of childhood cancer and its therapies. We evaluated the characteristics of those requiring tracing and factors that influenced tracing success.

Study Design And Setting: Medical record review identified 20,051 eligible individuals from 25 institutions in the United States and Canada.

XRCC1 and glutathione-S-transferase gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to radiotherapy-related malignancies in survivors of Hodgkin disease.

Background: One of the most serious late effects of treatment for childhood cancer is the occurrence of subsequent malignancy. Survivors of Hodgkin disease (HD), in particular, have been shown to be at high risk of subsequent malignancy, the occurrence of which has been associated strongly with exposure to radiotherapy.

Methods: In the current study, the authors investigated the association between polymorphisms in 3 genes--glutathione-S-transferase M1 (GSTM1), glutathione-S-transferase T1 (GSTT1), and XRCC1, with roles in protection from a variety of DNA-damaging agents-and the risk of subsequent malignancy in 650 survivors of HD enrolled in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study who had received radiotherapy.

Factors that affect final height and change in height standard deviation scores in survivors of childhood cancer treated with growth hormone: a report from the childhood cancer survivor study.

GH deficiency is a common late complication in survivors of pediatric malignancies, particularly those who are treated with radiation (RT) to the hypothalamic-pituitary region. Nonetheless, few reports have assessed final height outcomes in survivors treated with GH. In the present study, we investigated which patient and treatment variables correlate with final height and change in height sd score (SDS) in a large cohort of cancer survivors treated with GH.

An examination of the dental utilization practices of adult survivors of childhood cancer: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Objectives: This study characterized the self-reported dental utilization practice of long-term survivors of childhood cancer, a group at increased risk for treatment-induced dental abnormalities.

Methods: 9,434 survivors and a comparison group of 3,858 siblings completed a 289-item survey that included a question on when their last dental visit occurred.

Results: Within the last year 60.

Utilization of special education services and educational attainment among long-term survivors of childhood cancer: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

Background: The objective of the current report was to compare the self-reported rates of special education (SE) and educational attainment among specific groups of childhood cancer survivors and a random sample of sibling controls.

Methods: The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study is a retrospective cohort of individuals who were diagnosed with a cancer in childhood and survived at least 5 years postdiagnosis. This analysis includes 12,430 survivors and 3410 full siblings.