News: Childhood cancer survivors at high risk for developing CKD, hypertension, study reveals

Childhood cancer survivors have a “significantly higher” risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hypertension post-cancer treatment, according to MedPage Today.

Researchers of a new study published in JAMA Network Open examined a cohort of 10,182 childhood cancer survivors over a 27-year period. The cohort contained cancer survivors who were treated between April 1993 and March 2020.

According to the article, the cohort members were compared with another cohort of 40,728 children who had been hospitalized, and another general pediatric population of 35,307 children. The most frequent cancer types among the childhood cancer survivor cohort were leukemia (29%), central nervous system neoplasms (20.9%), and lymphoma (15.5%).

During the 27-year observation period, the researchers noted the following developments:

• The cumulative incidence in the childhood cancer survivor cohort of CKD or hypertension was 4.80% by one year and 9.99% after 10 years in cancer therapy end.
• The overall cumulative incidence of CKD among childhood cancer survivors was 8.07%.
• Compared with the hospitalization and GP cohorts, the childhood cancer survivor cohort had an approximate overall two-fold, and four-fold higher adjusted risk of CKD or hypertension, respectively.

“Future research should attempt to refine which [childhood cancer survivors] are at highest risk for kidney health outcomes in order to develop a cost-effective approach to screening for CKD and hypertension,” the researchers stated.

They concluded: “Increasing specificity and action-oriented guidance of [childhood cancer survivor] surveillance guidelines, by collaboration of kidney and cancer stakeholder organizations, may help mitigate CKD and hypertension-associated morbidity and mortality.”

Editor’s note: To read the MedPage Today article, click here. To read the JAMA Network Open article, click here.