May 26 - While better treatments of cancer in children have improved and increased survivorship, researchers say that childhood cancer survivors are five times more likely to become ill than their siblings.

The Cancer Survivor Study, presented to a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, found that two-thirds of children who are cured of cancer will later suffer from problems caused by treatments. This long-term study found that radiation treatment was the most damaging. Radiation to the head can cause retardation and learning disabilities. Radiation to the chest can cause lung scarring, breast cancer, and heart disease, and to the abdomen and pelvis, it can cause infertility and loss of sexual function. Chemotherapy drugs were also problematic, since researchers found that they can cause cancer later in life, as well as heart problems, liver failure, and sterility. Surgery to remove a brain tumor can cause retardation or other damage.

  A recent report from the Institute of Medicine, Childhood Cancer Survivorship: Improving Care and Quality of Life, recommended increasing awareness, ensuring access to comprehensive follow-up care, and improving resources for survivors and families.

• Childhood Cancer Survivorship: Improving Care and Quality of Life (2003)

• University of Minnesota's Childhood Cancer Survivor Study
• National Cancer Institute’s Office of Cancer Survivorship Research