Educational pathways of childhood cancer survivors-a parental cohort.

PURPOSE: Using the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), we examined the educational and vocational pathways of two comparable, parental cohorts: childhood cancer survivors (CCS) and their siblings. Both cohorts had previously entered parenthood. The aim of the study was to elucidate whether childhood cancer and treatment affect the educational pathways chosen by parents who are former patients. METHODS: We analysed data that was collected from childhood cancer survivors and their siblings regarding their offspring's health within the FeCt Multicentre Offspring Study (conducted 2013-2016). We evaluated and compared the professional pathways of (i) all participating survivors and all participating siblings and those of (ii) survivors and their biological siblings. RESULTS: Overall information on parental gender, age, and education were available from 1077 survivors and 246 siblings (group (i)). The majority of participants were female with a mean age of 35.2 (survivor) and 37.9 (sibling) years at time of survey. For subgroup (ii), analysis information was available on 191 survivors and 210 siblings. Fathers achieved university degrees significantly more often than mothers (p = 0.003 (i), p < 0.001 (ii)). The distribution of professional education was not significantly different between cancer survivors and siblings in either cohort (i) or (ii). CONCLUSIONS: Regarding our research on the educational and vocational trajectory of CCS, patients can be reassured that family planning and vocational education are well compatible. Inequalities regarding gender-specific educational pathways remain to be addressed. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: CCS should monitor their fertility status regularly and, if necessary, cryopreserve germ cells or tissue in order to optimize their family planning. Educational opportunities should be pursued as desired and with confidence. Local as well as European aftercare programs can assist with family planning and education.

Health-Related Behaviour Among Children of Childhood Cancer Survivors in Germany.

Purpose: Childhood cancer survivors fear that previous therapy could not only impair their own but also their children's health. We examined whether health-related behaviour in children of childhood cancer survivors differs from the general population. Methods: Our first nationwide survey wave (2013-2014) surveyed offspring health in 396 German childhood cancer survivors known to have a child of their own. Answers about health behaviour were analysed using descriptive statistics. Data were collected for 418 offspring and 394 could be integrated for matched-pair analyses with data from the German general population (KIGGS, n=17 641). Results: Teeth-cleaning routine, body-mass-index or subjective body image evaluation by parents were no different from children in the general population. Parents who included a cancer survivor smoked less in the presence of their children (p=0.01). During pregnancy, mothers in cancer survivor parent pairs abstained from drinking alcohol more often (p=0.01) and smoked less (p=0.05). While the calculated effect sizes (Phi) were generally low (0.135-0.247), children from cancer survivors played less outdoors than peers did (p=0.01). Boys participated in sports outside a club more often (p=0.05) and watched less TV on weekdays (p=0.01) and girls spent more time on the computer during weekdays than peers did (p=0.01). Conclusions: This study provides the first data for health-related behaviour in cancer survivors' offspring and sheds light on differences to parenting in the general population. Multivariate analyses in a larger study population are needed to relate these differences to fear issues in cancer survivors.

Nationwide Survey on the Health of Offspring from Former Childhood Cancer Patients in Germany.

BACKGROUND: Increased risk for infertility from cancer treatment and fear of health impairment in their offspring may prevent survivors of childhood cancer from having own children. Even though most studies report no increased risk for malformations, in our German fertility study 2008 a higher occurrence of cleft lip and palate was found in offspring of former patients. METHODS: Since 2010 we assess offspring's health in a survey-based multicenter study, comparing diseases, well-being, healthcare utilization and health-related behavior between offspring from survivors, siblings or the general population. Within a first nationwide survey wave survivors who were known to have at least one child by previous fertility studies, received a questionnaire supported by the German Childhood Cancer Registry. Questionnaires were based on the KiGGS study on children's health in the German general population conducted by the Robert-Koch Institute (n=17,641). RESULTS: Questionnaires on 418 children were answered by 65% (254/393) of survivors contacted to participate in the first nationwide offspring study wave. Participants were more likely to be female (p<0.01), to have achieved higher educational levels (p<0.05) and to be a survivor of a soft tissue tumor (p<0.05). Former patients expressed moderate to high anxiety for the occurrence of cancer in 74% and feared other diseases in their children in 20%. CONCLUSION: Offspring health is a topic of major relevance to former patients. Our offspring study is currently being extended to ~1500 offspring of childhood cancer survivors in Europe.

Dynamics of fertility impairment and recovery after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in childhood and adolescence: results from a longitudinal study.

PURPOSE: Fertility impairment and recovery after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) have been reported in both sexes, but little is known about how they develop over time. Our aim was to describe the dynamics of fertility impairment and recovery after HSCT. METHODS: We retrieved treatment and fertility data for up to 12 years of 361 paediatric patients with malignant and non-malignant diseases from seven European centres. The patients had been treated with allogeneic HSCT between 2000 and 2005. RESULTS: Development of fertility impairment was observed in males (123/217, 56%) after a median time of 2.6 years (range 0.1-11.4) and in females (82/144, 57%) after 2.3 years (range 0.1-12.0) after HSCT. Different busulfan dosages had only a slight impact on the onset of fertility impairment (busulfan ≥ 16 mg/kg with a median time to fertility impairment of 2.9 vs. 3.9 years after busulfan <14 mg/kg). Recovery from fertility impairment was observed in 17 participants after a median time of 4.1 years (range 1-10.6) in females (10/144, 7%) and 2.0 years (range 1-6.3) in males (7/217, 3 %) after fertility impairment first appeared. CONCLUSIONS: In the light of the dynamics of fertility impairment and recovery in the HSCT patients reviewed, these patients should be counselled comprehensively regarding fertility preservation measures.

Dynamics of fertility impairment in childhood brain tumour survivors.

PURPOSE: Fertility impairment and recovery after chemo- and radiotherapy have been reported in both male and female childhood cancer survivors, but little is known about the dynamics. Our aim, therefore, was to describe the development of fertility impairment and possible recovery in childhood brain tumour survivors. METHODS: In this longitudinal study, we included 144 survivors, who were treated in two German paediatric oncology centres between 2000 and 2005. Fertility parameters were retrieved from medical records up to 12 years after diagnosis. RESULTS: Participants with age ≥13 years and formerly cranial irradiation ≥30 Gray (n = 23), including 83 % (n = 19) with craniospinal irradiation ≥30 Gray, had a higher median FSH concentration compared to 29 patients without chemoradiotherapy: 8.3 IU/l (IQR 6.5-11.2) versus 4.1 IU/l (IQR 3.2-5.1) 2 years after initial treatment; 8.9 IU/l (IQR 8.5-10.8) versus 4.2 IU/l (IQR 2.4-6.7) after 8 years; and 7.1 IU/l (IQR 6.7-7.7) versus 3.5 IU/l (IQR 2.8-4.2) after 10 years. Altogether, 11/65 women reported the occurrence of amenorrhoea 6.0 years (range 1-10) after diagnosis. Five of these women later developed a regular menstrual cycle without hormone replacement therapy. Patients' chance of recovery from fertility impairment was increased with time since diagnosis (p = 0.074). CONCLUSION: Signs of fertility impairment such as amenorrhoea and elevated FSH levels were observed at variable time points between 1 and 12 years after chemoradiotherapy. Decreasing FSH levels were observed 1-7 years after elevation and were interpreted either as an atrophy of the pituitary gland or as recovery from fertility impairment.

Impact of cranial irradiation and brain tumor location on fertility: a survey.

As survival rates of patients with childhood brain tumors have increased to 75%, treatment related side effects are of particular importance. The present study evaluated questionnaire-based fertility characteristics in cancer survivors treated with irradiation to the hypo-thalamic-pituitary-axis.A nationwide survey was conducted in collaboration with the German Childhood Cancer Registry. Questionnaire and treatment data could be retrieved for 1110 former childhood cancer patients with cranial irradiation and/or chemotherapy.Survivors receiving ≥30 gray vs. 18-29 gray and 0-17 gray to the pituitary gland reported less pregnancies or less with their partners (7.4% vs. 32.8% vs. 12.4%; p<0.001), were more often infertile (40% vs. 9.4% vs. 12.5%; p<0.001) and the female participants, had a higher frequency of permanent amenorrhea (16.7% vs. 1.7% vs. 0%; p<0.001).Irradiation of the pituitary gland ≥ 30 gray seemed to be associated with less pregnancies and increased permanent amenorrhea in women. Future studies need to be conducted to confirm these results. Increased knowledge of treatment related side effects might help brain tumor patients to improve their family planning if necessary by gonadotropine replacement.

Educational level of childhood brain tumor survivors: results from a German survey.

BACKGROUND: Among adult survivors of childhood brain tumors in Germany, we assessed their educational level and examined potentially influencing factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to 505 childhood brain tumor survivors listed in the German Childhood Cancer Registry. 203/505 (40.2%) patients with treatment and educational data were included in the analysis.Of the included brain tumor survivors 54.7% (111/203) were male, the median age was 11.0 (1-15) years at diagnosis and 22.0 (19-37) years at the time of the survey. 34.8% (95%-CI 25.1-44.5) of female and 34.9% (26.0-43.8) of male survivors achieved a high school diploma. Survivors who had received irradiation had less likely obtained a high school diploma compared to those without irradiation. However, this association was statistically not significant: for either craniospinal or tumor irradiation adjusted odds ratio was 0.54 (0.08-3.76); for those with a combination of craniospinal and tumor irradiation 0.51 (0.07-3.59). Participants aged 6-10 years at diagnosis achieved a higher educational level 2.24 (0.45-11.25) compared to younger patients. CONCLUSION: A third of the childhood brain tumor survivors who participated in our survey obtained the highest school leaving certificate. This may be biased by an overrepresentation of well-educated survivors without major cancer-related late effects. The influence of the patients' strong motivation following a severe illness combined with the intensive psychosocial and/or pedagogical support on education needs to be examined in future studies.

Fertility after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in childhood and adolescence.

Infertility is a major late effect in patients receiving haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of patients having fertility impairment after allogeneic HSCT in childhood/adolescence and to identify the potential risk factors. Treatment and fertility data of paediatric patients with malignant and non-malignant diseases treated with allogeneic HSCT between 2000 and 2005 were collected from seven European centres. Data were obtained for 138 female and 206 male patients after a median follow-up of 6 years (range 3-12). The patients' median age was 13 years (range 4-28) at the time of HSCT and 19 (range 12-35) years at the time of the enquiry. Seven children were born to the overall group, all at term and healthy. Fertility impairment was suspected in 69% males and 83% females. Start of treatment at age 13 years was a risk factor in females (odds ratio (OR) 4.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.5 to 14.9), whereas pre-pubertal therapy was a risk factor in males (OR 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2 to 0.8). The major treatment-related risk factors were BU in females (OR 47.4; 95% CI, 5.4 to 418.1) and TBI in males (OR 7.7; 95% CI, 2.3 to 25.4). In light of the significant proportion of HSCT patients reviewed with impaired fertility, fertility conservation procedures should be considered for all patients undergoing HSCT, particularly those receiving TBI or BU-based preparative regimens.

Hormone and Sperm Analyses after Chemo- and Radiotherapy in Childhood and Adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Since prevalence of and reasons for infertility were unclear in survivors of childhood cancer we conducted a two centre survey in 2006 and nationwide in 2008. In 2008/2009 we undertook a study entitled "Hormone and Sperm Analyses after Chemo- and Radiotherapy in Childhood and Adolescence". PATIENTS AND METHODS: Letters were sent to 748 former paediatric oncological patients who were at least 18 years of age at the time of the survey. Serum and sperm samples were analysed. RESULTS: We obtained 159 blood samples (86 women, 73 men). 42 men took part in the sperm analyses. The average participants' age at the time of the survey was 25 years. The anti-Mullerian hormone levels (AMH) in 14/86 female participants (16 %) were < 0.1 ng/ml. The follicular reserve of these women seemed manifestly impaired, which is consistent with suspected infertility. The AMH levels in 21/86 women (24 %) were 0.1 - 1.0 ng/ml indicating limited follicular reserve and therefore suspected early ovarian failure. Inhibin B levels of < 80 pg/ml and FSH levels of > 10 IU/L were found in 23/73 male participants (32 %), which may indicate impaired spermiogenesis with increased risk of infertility. 13/42 sperm analyses (31 %) revealed azoospermia. DISCUSSION: Paediatric oncological therapy seems to have led to fertility impairment in about 1/3 of the participants. Considering this serious impairment, patients and their families should be given comprehensive counselling ahead of therapy to enable fertility-preserving measures. For persons who wish to have children after undergoing therapy we recommend a hormone and sperm analysis. An early analysis may enable a more successful family planning.