Advancements in cancer treatments like chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation, transplants and surgery have allowed more and more children to survive their diseases. But the same treatments that are saving people's lives can later cause delayed hormone development, infertility and secondary cancers, or chronic health complications like muscle and bone weakness and impaired vision and hearing. A new research program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will focus exclusively on the long-term effects of cancer treatment in children and identify interventions that can reduce some of these health complications in survivors as they become teenagers and adults. The project builds upon a long history of research and work at CHOP to study the effects of chemotherapy and radiation, which are extremely effective in curing many kinds of cancers, but they can be harsh on the body.
