Young cancer survivors at increased risk of almost all diagnoses in later life: Study

New Delhi, June 18: Cancer survivors who got the disease at a young age, are at an increased risk of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD), other cancers and diagnoses later in life, a new study showed on Tuesday.

The study published in The Lancet Regional Health Journal surveyed all people from 1958 onwards in Sweden who got cancer under the age of 25. The researchers found that the cancer survivors were about three times more likely to develop cancer later in life, 1.23 times more likely to have CVD and had a 1.41 times higher risk of accidents, poisoning and suicide.

“If you’ve had cancer as a child or adolescent, you have an increased risk of almost all diagnoses in the future," said Laila Hubbert, a researcher at Linkoping University and consultant at the Cardiology Clinic at Vrinnevi Hospital in Norrkoping. According to the researchers, cancer survivors carry with them fragility, for the rest of their lives that puts them at higher risk of new diseases.

It’s mainly the chemotherapy and radiation treatment that increases the risk of CVD. "This means that patients shouldn’t be released prematurely without planned and ongoing follow-up. It’s important to identify these risk factors and diseases early," said Hubbert.

In addition, the researchers found that socio economic factors play a major role in the risk of disease and death after cancer in young years. The risk increases for those with a lower level of education, a foreign background, or who remain unmarried, the study mentioned.

This study also showed that the risk of disease and death after cancer in children and adolescents is the "same regardless of where you live in Sweden."