Premium
The Adult Life After Childhood Cancer in Scandinavia (ALiCCS) Study: Design and Characteristics
Author(s) -
Asdahl Peter H.,
Winther Jeanette F.,
Bonnesen Trine G.,
De Fine Licht Sofie,
Gudmundsdottir Thorgerdur,
Anderson Harald,
MadanatHarjuoja Laura,
Tryggvadottir Laufey,
Småstuen Milada Cvancarova,
Holmqvist Anna Sällfors,
Hasle Henrik,
Olsen Jørgen H.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
pediatric blood and cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.116
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1545-5017
pISSN - 1545-5009
DOI - 10.1002/pbc.25661
Subject(s) - medicine , cancer , cohort , childhood cancer , pediatrics , cohort study , population , pediatric cancer , environmental health
Background During the last five decades, survival of childhood cancer has increased from 25% to 80%. At the same time, however, it has become evident that survivors experience a broad range of therapy‐related late adverse health effects. The aim of the Adult Life after Childhood Cancer in Scandinavia (ALiCCS) study is to investigate long‐term health consequences of past and current therapies in order to improve follow‐up care of survivors and to reduce treatment‐related morbidity of future patients. Procedure Childhood cancer survivors were identified through the five Nordic cancer registries and a comparison cohort was established through random selection of cancer‐free individuals from the civil registration systems. A unique personal identification number was used to link between different health registries. Abstraction of treatment information for a subset of survivors allows investigation of the association between the various components of cancer therapy and late occurring comorbidity. Results The childhood cancer survivor cohort comprises 33,160 1‐year survivors and the comparison cohort comprises 212,892 cancer free individuals from the general population. In the childhood cancer survivor cohort, all types of childhood cancer are represented including leukemia (21%), lymphoma (14%), central nervous system tumors (24%), sarcomas (5%), retinoblastoma (3%), and neuroblastoma (4%). Among the survivors, 22% have been followed beyond the age of 40 years. Conclusion The ALiCCS study constitutes a new large resource for research on late effects of childhood cancers that include all types of childhood malignancies and has followed a large proportion of the survivors well into late adulthood. Pediatr Blood Cancer. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.