Cancer treatment of childhood comes with risk of kidney damage

A new study proves that some adult survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk for kidney problems. The researchers examined the long-term effects of kidney-damaging treatments, including the chemotherapy drugs ifosfamide, cisplatin, carboplatin, high-dose methotrexate and high-dose cyclophosphamide; radiation therapy to the kidney region; and partial or complete surgical removal of the kidney (nephrectomy). Compared with patients who did not receive kidney-damaging treatments, those who were treated with ifosfamide or cisplatin and those who underwent nephrectomy had poorer kidney function, which persisted throughout the follow-up period. This study is published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. “Health care providers and survivors should be aware of the increased risk of early kidney damage after [kidney-damaging] treatment for childhood cancer, because these patients are also at increased risk for developing comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease”, Renee Mulder, a research associate in the department of pediatric oncology at Emma Children's Hospital/Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, said in the news release.