Adult survivors of childhood cancer have a greater risk of heart disease and develop risk factors like high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol earlier in life compared to the general population, a German study suggests. Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-cancer-childhood-survivors/childhood-cancer-survivors-may-develop-heart-problems-sooner-idUSKBN1H438P

The team of María Domínguez, researcher for the Neuroscience Institute, joint venture of the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) in Elche and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), has managed to prove for the first time that an important factor in the development of acute pediatric lymphoblastic leukemia is inflammation. Read more: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20180322/Researchers-prove-link-between-common-childhood-cancer-and-inflammation.aspx

Young mice that received molecularly targeted therapies used to treat brain cancer in human patients sustained cognitive and behavioural deficits, but the deficits were largely reversible through environmental stimulation and physical exercise. Read more: https://scicasts.com/channels/cancer-research/2067-cancer-drugs/13437-potential-cognitive-effects-of-targeted-drugs-in-children-may-be-reversible-with-therapy/

Survivors of childhood cancer who are overweight or obese as adults are at an increased risk of developing an obesity-related cancer. Read more: http://www.oncnursingnews.com/contributor/jennifer-brown/2018/03/obesity-and-childhood-cancer

Cancer-associated cognitive impairment, commonly known as chemo brain, is an adverse effect of cancer and its treatment that survivors experience to varying degrees. Symptoms generally include attention and concentration difficulties, reduced processing speed and executive function, and compromised short-term memory. Chemo brain affects more than one-third of all survivors of childhood cancers. Read more: https://www.oncologynurseadvisor.com/side-effect-management/chemo-brain-in-pediatric-cancer-survivors/article/751108/

The scientists recommend that people with advanced-stage fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, which mostly affects teenagers and young adults, receive regular neuroimaging scans because of the tumor’s apparent ability to metastasize to the brain. Solid tumors, including those in the liver, don’t usually spread to the brain, so scans to monitor fibrolamellar patients’ progress typically don’t include the head. Read more: https://www.rockefeller.edu/news/21508-scientists-caution-rare-childhood-liver-cancer-can-spread-brain/

Two new biomarkers for a type of cancer in children called neuroblastoma have been identified in a study published in the journal Cancer Cell. The findings are expected to have immediate significance for disease prognosis, and eventually also for treatment. Read more: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20180313/Study-identifies-two-new-biomarkers-for-common-form-of-childhood-cancer.aspx

Survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk of suffering prematurely from cardiovascular disease in adulthood, according to a study published today in the European Heart Journal. Read more: https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/esoc-soc030718.php

Survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer often have stronger social networks than their non-cancer peers, according to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital researchers, who hope to translate that support into better lives for the nation's growing population of cancer survivors. Read more here: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-03-adolescent-young-adult-cancer-survivors.html

A pair of new studies by independent research teams is offering a look at the molecular alterations found in thousands of childhood tumors from a broad swath of cancer subtypes. Read more: https://www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/pediatric-pan-cancer-studies-uncover-distinct-childhood-tumor-features