Children’s Oncology Group L991 final study report: Establishing an important benchmark for assessing late effects of trimodality care of pediatric patients treated for high grade gliomas

As advances are made in children’s cancer care, there will be growing numbers of adult survivors of pediatric cancer. In the United States, the number of adult survivors of pediatric cancers is approaching 300,000 (1). According to the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Result’s Cancer Statistics Review 1975-2008, the 5 year overall survival rate for children with brain tumors has risen from 58.8 % in 1975-1977 to 75% from 2001-2007 (2). With improved survivorship from childhood cancers, researchers have generated an abundance of literature pertaining to quality of life. A PubMed literature search with the terms “childhood cancer survivors quality of life” yields 420 citations. Studies focus on late effects in nearly every organ system, secondary malignancies, fertility, productivity, socioeconomic impact, and numerous other effects.