Reduction in Late Mortality among 5-Year Survivors of Childhood Cancer

Alterations in treatment intensity and decreased use of radiation therapy have reduced the risk of late treatment-related death in long-term survivors of childhood cancer. In the 1960s, fewer than half the children in whom cancer was diagnosed were still alive 5 years later. 1 Now, more than 83% of patients with a childhood cancer in the United States become 5-year survivors of the disease. 2 As a result, in 2013 it was estimated that there were more than 420,000 survivors of childhood cancer in the United States and that by the year 2020 this number would surpass 500,000. 3 Increased success in the treatment of childhood cancers has been achieved through the systematic conduct of clinical trials to assess the efficacy of multimodal approaches involving combination chemotherapy, . . .