Rahel Kasteler

Long-term auditory complications after childhood cancer: A report from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

Auditory complications are an adverse event of childhood cancer treatment, especially common in children treated with platinum chemotherapy or cranial radiation. Variation between diagnostic childhood cancer groups has rarely been studied, and we do not know if the burden of auditory complications has changed over the last decades.

Long-term pulmonary disease among Swiss childhood cancer survivors

Pulmonary diseases are potentially severe late complications of childhood cancer treatment that increase mortality risk among survivors. This nationwide study assesses the prevalence and incidence of pulmonary diseases in long‐term childhood cancer survivors (CCS) and their siblings, and quantifies treatment‐related risks.

Prevalence and reasons for smoking in adolescent Swiss childhood cancer survivors.

Smoking harms health, particularly that of childhood cancer survivors, who face risk of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases because of chemotherapy and radiotherapy to the chest. This nationwide study assessed smoking habits and reasons for smoking in adolescent survivors and healthy peers.

Risk Factors and the Prevention of Weight Gain During Induction Chemotherapy in Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

In a recent issue of the Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Seki and colleagues reported on risk factors for weight gain during induction chemotherapy in 96 childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients. In a retrospective study of medical records, they found that non–high-risk treatment for childhood ALL and treatment start date before daily weight measurement were risk factors for weight gain during induction therapy. They concluded that daily body weight measurements might prevent weight gain during induction therapy and can result in maintaining a healthy weight after aLL treatment. We agree that early weight management should be emphasized, but question the study’s conclusions because of its methodological weaknesses. The retrospective design could have introduced surveillance bias and confounding. During the second half of the study period (after 2005), more focus was put on weight management as daily body weight measurements were initiated in an attempt to control weight. Patients who experienced weight gain in the second half of the study (after 2005) may have been more closely monitored than patients in the first half of the study (before 2005). The closer surveillance could potentially have led to difference in management, for example, diet control and water retention. Reverse causation may have occurred: overall differences in weight management, not the daily weight measurements, caused a weight reduction. More details on how weight gain found during induction was handled in the 2 periods would have helped the reader interpret this study.2 In the future, an intervention study with weight monitoring procedures in addition to normal clinical practice of daily weight measurements would assist gaining insight into good management of weight reduction.