Child cancer survivors have fivefold risk of new primary malignancy
First national data shows increased risk lingers for decades, researchers report
The risk of developing a second primary cancer is five times higher in people who have survived childhood cancer than in the general population, according to Australian researchers.
Their large population-based study also showed that the risk of a second cancer peaked at two to five years after the initial diagnosis but remained 2.5 times higher for up to 33 years.
The team of researchers, led by Associate Professor Danny Youlden from Cancer Council Queensland, analysed data from the Australian Childhood Cancer Registry of people alive at least two months after being diagnosed with a primary cancer before the age of 15.
Primary cancer data was collected from between 1983 and 2013, with follow-up until 2015.
