Institute of Cancer Epidemiology

By Jørgen H. Olsen, Director, MD, MDSc

The Institute of Cancer Epidemiology has received a 14,000,000 kroner grant from the Strategic Research Council to finance a Nordic study of late health effects from treatment of cancer in childhood.

Cancer treatment during childhood can result in a variety of long-term sequelae, such as impairment of growth and development, reproductive difficulties, chronic late morbidity, second cancers, increased mortality and psychosocial and familial problems. Survival rates after childhood cancer have improved substantially over the past four decades, and a rapidly increasing number of survivors pass reproductive age and adulthood to enter their 50s and early 60s, when the incidences of most chronic diseases in the general population begin to increase. Studies of late sequelae of childhood cancer require a large population of survivors if they are to yield reliable estimates of the relative and absolute risks. Starting 1 January 2010 we will initiate the establishment of a large, retrospective, inter-Nordic childhood cancer cohort (n = 50 000) in order to compare their morbidity-specific incidence and cause-specific mortality with those of a sample of the general populations of the Nordic countries (n = 100 000).
The Nordic countries are ideal study areas for this type of clinical and epidemiological research, as a broad range of outcome data is available from high-quality, nationwide health and disease registers. We also propose to set up several case–control studies nested in the childhood cancer cohort in order to investigate associations, including dose-response, between specific treatment regimens and selected outcomes. The ultimate goals are to allow better planning of treatment protocols for childhood cancer, with fewer late effects, to contribute to preventive intervention strategies and to improve the basis for patient counseling and optimal follow-up care.