University of Minnesota cancer researchers found that children who received radiation treatment for cancer face an increased risk for brain and spinal column tumors later in life. The study will be published in the Nov. 1, 2006, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
The risk of secondary cancers occurring in childhood cancer survivors varies depending on the original cancer, age of the survivor at the first cancer diagnosis, and the primary treatment given, said Joseph Neglia, M.D., pediatric oncologist and researcher with the University of Minnesota Medical School and Cancer Center. He was the lead researcher on this study.
“Secondary tumors of the central nervous system can have particularly devastating consequences and have been linked to earlier treatments for childhood leukemia and brain tumors,” he said.