Obejctives
- Establish a pan-European cohort of survivors of childhood cancer for whom the occurrence of cardiac disease has been systematically ascertained and validated.
- Determine the incidence and absolute risk of cardiovascular disease among 5 years survivors in the cohort
- Undertake a nested case-control study of cardiovascular disease developing within the cohort to determine aspects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy most strongly associated with increased risk. Investigate the nature of the dose-response relationship between cumulative dose of radiation from radiotherapy, cumulative dose of specific anti-cancer drugs and the risk of cardiac disease.
- Collect and store biological material (blood or saliva) of cases and controls for future DNA studies.
- Provide reliable and unbiased evidence for:
- counselling, educating and empowering survivors;
- educating health care professionals;
- reviewing and updating standardised guidelines for the clinical follow-up of survivors;
- evaluating alternative proposals for future treatment protocols from a risk as well as benefit perspective;
- assessing proposals for screening tests among particular groups; evaluating potential intervention studies aimed at reducing the risk of specific adverse outcomes
Providing childhood cancer survivors with better access to care and better long-term health