Spleen
Childhood cancer survivors may have late effects that affect the spleen.
Spleen late effects may increase the risk of life-threatening bacterial infections.
Certain factors increase the risk that spleen late effects will occur.
The risk of spleen late effects may be increased in childhood cancer survivors who received either of the following:
- Splenectomy (surgery to remove the spleen).
- High- dose radiation therapy to the spleen.
It is very important that childhood cancer survivors who received either of these treatments keep immunizations up-to-date and receive antibiotics before having any dental work.
Spleen late effects may be caused by treatment for childhood Hodgkin lymphoma and other childhood cancers.
Heart
Heart
Childhood cancer survivors may have late effects that affect the heart.
Heart late effects may include the following:
- Abnormal heartbeat.
- Disease of the heart muscle.
- Congestive heart failure.
- Increased risk of stroke, blood clots, and chest pains.
- Tiring quickly during exercise.
- Coronary artery disease (hardening of the heart arteries).
Certain factors may increase the risk that heart late effects will occur.
The following may increase the risk of heart late effects:
- Being female.
- Being young at the time of treatment (the younger the child, the greater the risk).
- Having other risk factors for heart disease, such as a family history of heart disease, being overweight, smoking, or having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.
- Having received a stem cell transplant.
This risk may also increase as the amounts of anthracycline drugs and radiation used increase and as the time since treatment gets longer.
Heart late effects may be caused by treatment for certain childhood cancers.
Treatment for these and other childhood cancers may cause heart late effects:
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
- Central nervous system (CNS) tumors.
- Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Wilms tumor.
The Web site of the National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov)
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