Although advances in medicine are saving more children diagnosed with cancer, new research suggests some lingering health problems in adulthood are growing with each generation of survivors.
In a study published Monday by the Annals of Internal Medicine, adults diagnosed with childhood cancers in the 1990s reported some worse health outcomes than those treated in the 1970s or 1980s. Improvements in treatments have led to reduced risk of cancer-related deaths later in life and declines in exposure to radiation and chemotherapy, which can lead to health problems. Yet rates of self-described poor general health, anxiety and pain peaked among the group of survivors who were diagnosed more recently. And the differences were greatest in patients affected by the most common childhood cancers.
