We were pleased to host guest panelist Dr. Greg Armstrong of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital who provided our November All-Member webinar.
In just half a century, we have witnessed a remarkable improvement in survival of childhood cancer. In the 1960’s less than 30-40% of children diagnosed with a malignancy would achieve five-year survival. Now, over 80% of children diagnosed with cancer will become five-year survivors of their disease. As a result, 2013 it was estimated that there were over 420,000 survivors of childhood cancer in the United States, and that by the year 2020 we would cross the threshold of over one half million survivors. The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS), a multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary collaborative research resource, was established in 1994 to systematically evaluate long-term outcomes among childhood cancer patients who survived five or more years from diagnosis. The CCSS cohort, which now includes more than 24,000 survivor participants diagnosed between 1970 and 1999, has been the source of some of the most significant publications addressing long-term mortality, morbidity and quality of life of childhood cancer survivors. The current webinar will focus on recent results suggesting that survivors of more modern treatment eras may expect a longer lifespan due to reduced late effects.