Bone
Childhood cancer survivors may have late effects that affect the bones.
Bone late effects may include the following:
- Bone pain.
- Joint stiffness.
- Weak or thin bones that can break easily.
- Decreased amounts of calcium in bones.
- Decreased bone and tissue growth in treated areas.
Certain factors increase the risk that bone late effects will occur.
The following may increase the risk of bone late effects:
- Being female.
- Being older at the time of treatment.
- Having low levels of estrogen or growth hormone.
Risk may also be increased in childhood cancer survivors who received either of the following:
- Radiation therapy, especially to the head and spine.
- Steroids, such as dexamethasone, with cancer treatment.
Bone late effects may be caused by treatment for certain childhood cancers.
Treatment for these and other childhood cancers may cause bone late effects:
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
- Central nervous system (CNS) tumors.
- Bone cancer.
- Wilms tumor.
- Osteosarcoma.
- Soft tissue sarcoma.
Body weight
Childhood cancer survivors may have late effects that affect body weight and cause obesity.
The following may increase the risk of obesity:
- Being female and having received treatment at age 4 years or younger, with high- dose radiation therapy to the head.
- Being young at the time of treatment (the younger the child, the greater the risk).
- Being slender at the time of diagnosis.
- Having an increase in body fat at an earlier than normal age.
Obesity may be caused by treatment for certain childhood cancers.
Treatment for these and other childhood cancers may cause obesity:
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
- Brain tumors.
- Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
The Web site of the National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov)
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