Childhood cancer survivors face socioeconomic difficulties, researchers find

Childhood cancer survivors face socioeconomic difficulties, according to a review published online April 15 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Márk Viktor Hernádfői, M.D., from the Center for Translational Medicine at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 280 articles, reporting on 389,502 survivors to examine the socioeconomic attainment of childhood cancer survivors compared to their unaffected peers.

The researchers found that childhood cancer survivors were less likely to complete higher levels of education compared with population-based controls (odds ratio, 0.69; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.40 to 1.18), and they had higher odds of health-related unemployment (odds ratio, 2.94; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.90 to 4.57) and lower rates of marriage and parenthood (odds ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.72 [0.63 to 0.84] and 0.60 [0.49 to 0.74], respectively).

"Results of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that childhood cancer survivors face significant long-term socioeconomic challenges, particularly in education, employment, and family formation compared with their peers," the authors write.

"Establishment of a lifelong follow-up support protocol is crucially needed with a distinctive emphasis on successful social reintegration. To secure the future complete psychosocial well-being and fulfillment for the current generation of patients with childhood cancer, it is paramount to take immediate action."

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