BACKGROUND Childhood cancer survival has increased significantly during the last decades. As a result, an increasing number of adults require appropriate follow-up care due to recurrences and late effects of early treatments. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion about the design and delivery of care to long term childhood survivors: by estimating their number, features and age distribution in the Italian cancer registry areas. METHODS We apply the CHILDPREV method to limited duration prevalence of 15 Italian registries, and obtain complete prevalence of people of all ages who were diagnosed during their childhood of one of the following cancers: Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), Brain and Central Nervous System cancer (CNS), Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and all cancer types combined but non-melanoma. We also reconstruct the patterns of care in adult age of individuals diagnosed with cancer in childhood age in Veneto and Piemonte, by linking at individual level cancer registry data with hospital admissions archives. We compute hospitalization and incidence rates for diseases possibly related with childhood cancer treatment and compare results with those obtained for the general population with same age, gender, residence area. RESULTS In Italy we estimate about 44,000 survivors of childhood cancer at January 1, 2010 out of 2.6 million people living with a cancer diagnosis; ALL accounts for 23? of prevalent cases, CNS for 24? and HL for 7?. Severe diseases possibly related with childhood cancer treatments are present in 3.4? and 2.6? of childhood cancer survivors in Piemonte and Veneto, respectively; these proportions are significantly higher than those measured in regional populations. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Adults with a childhood cancer diagnosis represent a relevant target from the public health perspective. Providing for them specific health care monitoring is appropriate for early detection and timely treatment of late effects and severe diseases.
Long term childhoood cancer survivors: A pilot study in Italy
Gigli;
2016
Abstract
BACKGROUND Childhood cancer survival has increased significantly during the last decades. As a result, an increasing number of adults require appropriate follow-up care due to recurrences and late effects of early treatments. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion about the design and delivery of care to long term childhood survivors: by estimating their number, features and age distribution in the Italian cancer registry areas. METHODS We apply the CHILDPREV method to limited duration prevalence of 15 Italian registries, and obtain complete prevalence of people of all ages who were diagnosed during their childhood of one of the following cancers: Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), Brain and Central Nervous System cancer (CNS), Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and all cancer types combined but non-melanoma. We also reconstruct the patterns of care in adult age of individuals diagnosed with cancer in childhood age in Veneto and Piemonte, by linking at individual level cancer registry data with hospital admissions archives. We compute hospitalization and incidence rates for diseases possibly related with childhood cancer treatment and compare results with those obtained for the general population with same age, gender, residence area. RESULTS In Italy we estimate about 44,000 survivors of childhood cancer at January 1, 2010 out of 2.6 million people living with a cancer diagnosis; ALL accounts for 23? of prevalent cases, CNS for 24? and HL for 7?. Severe diseases possibly related with childhood cancer treatments are present in 3.4? and 2.6? of childhood cancer survivors in Piemonte and Veneto, respectively; these proportions are significantly higher than those measured in regional populations. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Adults with a childhood cancer diagnosis represent a relevant target from the public health perspective. Providing for them specific health care monitoring is appropriate for early detection and timely treatment of late effects and severe diseases.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
