Health Discoveries in Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders
Childhood brain tumor survivors face health issues later
August 13, 2010
A study by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital found that those who survive childhood brain tumors often face health and fitness issues later in life.
The long-term study, involving the cases of 78 adult survivors, reviewed their treatment from 1970 to 2000 at either St. Jude or the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital.
Nearly 85 percent were studied at least 10 years after they learned they had an astrocytoma, medulloblastoma, ependymoma or another type of brain tumor. The findings were published recently in the journal Cancer.
"The survivors we tested were young adults, half between the ages of 18 and 22, but their muscle strength and fitness was similar to that of 60- to 65-year-olds," said researcher Kirsten Ness of the St. Jude Epidemiology and Cancer Control department. "The findings indicate that childhood brain tumor survivors may be particularly vulnerable to the physical declines associated with aging, leaving them at higher risk for problems linked to inactivity, including osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease."
Within the North Shore-LIJ Health System, a pilot study at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, is focusing on the effect of intensive chemotherapy and stem cell-based drug treatments in children who have been newly diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
The long-term study, involving the cases of 78 adult survivors, reviewed their treatment from 1970 to 2000 at either St. Jude or the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital.
Nearly 85 percent were studied at least 10 years after they learned they had an astrocytoma, medulloblastoma, ependymoma or another type of brain tumor. The findings were published recently in the journal Cancer.
"The survivors we tested were young adults, half between the ages of 18 and 22, but their muscle strength and fitness was similar to that of 60- to 65-year-olds," said researcher Kirsten Ness of the St. Jude Epidemiology and Cancer Control department. "The findings indicate that childhood brain tumor survivors may be particularly vulnerable to the physical declines associated with aging, leaving them at higher risk for problems linked to inactivity, including osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease."
Within the North Shore-LIJ Health System, a pilot study at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, is focusing on the effect of intensive chemotherapy and stem cell-based drug treatments in children who have been newly diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.