Guidelines for Complications of Cancer Treatment Vol VIII Part B

Late Effects in Childhood CancerSurvivors: Guidelines for Evaluation &MonitoringIntroductionSurvival after the diagnosis of cancer in children has becomea rule rather than an exception. Currently, more than 70% ofchildren with cancer in developed countries survive at least 5years and most survivors are cured. 1,2 Consequent to thissuccess arise challenges inherent in coordinating life longhealth care for a high risk group of patients predisposed to avariety of cancer related complications. Cancer-relatedsequelae that persist or develop 5 years after the cancerdiagnosis are termed late effects.Magnitude of late effects & its determinantsApproximately 30-40,000 cases of childhood cancer occur inour country annually. Even with conservative estimates of10-20% long-term cure, approximately 3.5 -7,000 survivorsare added to our population each year. Two-third of survivorsare known to have at least one late effect of their cancer therapyand of these, one third have serious or life threateningcomplications. 3 The incidence of most late effects increases407