Researchers Find Childhood Cancer Survivors Need Better Screening for Second Malignant Neoplasms

Childhood survivors of cancer treated with radiation therapy were less likely than their siblings to undergo a colonoscopy or PAP smear, but more likely to have undergone a mammogram or skin exam, in a recent study by Paul C. Nathan et al presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

The researchers used the data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor study to assess compliance with the American Cancer Society’s guidelines for surveillance mammography, colonoscopy and PAP smears by childhood survivors at increased risk for cancers of the colon, breast or skin due to radiation therapy treatments.

Of 8,318 survivors, 17.6 percent reported having a colonoscopy, 70.4 percent underwent a mammogram and 92.6 percent had a PAP smear per ACS guidelines. Based on the criteria, these childhood cancer survivors were less likely than their siblings to have undergone a colonoscopy or a PAP smear, according to the authors of “Cancer Screening in Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer: A report from the Childhood Cancer survivor Study (CCSS).” Among the survivors, only 11.4 percent reported a colonoscopy within the recommended five-year period; 30.5 percent reported a mammogram within a one-year period; and 26.7 percent reported a skin exam.

Childhood cancer survivors treated in a cancer center were more likely to have undergone a mammography and skin exam, the authors stated.

“Childhood cancer survivors are not screened adequately for second malignant neoplasms,” the authors concluded. “Surveillance is very poor amongst those at highest risk for colon, breast or skin cancer. Survivors and their physicians need education about the importance of surveillance.”