Childhood Cancer Survivors Studied to Understand Long-term Effects of Treatments

Episode # 59
Uploaded: July 7, 2011
Running Time: 03:21

CROWN: From the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, this is CLINICAL CENTER RADIO.

Beating cancer is only part of battle. Understanding the effects the fight has had on your body is another. At the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, researchers are learning more about the long-term effects of cancer treatments by studying childhood cancer survivors. Dr. Maya Lodish, a researcher with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, explains:

LODISH: We're constantly collecting data in an electronic database where we can link that patient's history of radiation, their dose and site, along with the different chemotherapeutic agents received in those doses. Then, as we follow the kids later on, and we see issues related to, perhaps, fertility, difficulty with puberty, difficulty growing, different hormone problems, bone health, risk for diabetes…we can go back and see: what did this child receive? And as we see more and more patients, and collaborate with other institutions, we can put together more of an understanding of late effects and what the etiology is.

CROWN: The study includes children to young adults between ages 2 to 24, who've been treated for cancer but are now disease-free for at least a year. Dr. Lodish says the study will yield useful information about how cancer treatments may have affected their endocrine systems – a particularly vulnerable area of the body that includes the glands and hormones that help control metabolism, growth, development and reproduction.

LODISH: There are so many unanswered questions in this area. For example, we're interested in looking at different markers that might predict an earlier decline in fertility because that's something families really struggle with. I think we have a long way to go in terms of improving fertility outcomes after therapy and acting preemptively in this area.

CROWN: Dr. Lodish says she also hopes the study helps train medical fellows, residents and students in identifying and managing potential endocrine issues in childhood cancer survivors. She says it's about creating a better system to care for these patients.

LODISH: What I like to teach my patients is that this isn't to instill anxiety. I don't want them to feel like they're looking at the back of a medicine bottle and reading the list of side effects and getting anxious. But really that knowledge is power. And the more that they know about what their therapy was and what that may lead to in the future, they can bring that knowledge with them to their care providers and not be left in the dark about what to look out for so we can catch things early and intervene and give them the best quality of life possible.

CROWN: If you would like more information about this study, or one of the 1,500 other studies offered at the NIH Clinical Center, log on to clinicalcenter.nih.gov. For this study, refer to protocol number 07-CH-0192. You may also call toll free 1-866-999-5553. From America's Clinical Research Hospital, this has been CLINICAL CENTER RADIO. In Bethesda, Maryland, I'm Ellen Crown, at the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

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