Young leukemia or brain tumor survivors are likely to have strokes later in their life

Medical News Today - Children who are successfully treated for brain tumors or leukemia are more likely to have strokes later in life, according to new research from UT Southwestern Medical Center.

In addition, childhood cancer survivors who received higher doses of cranial radiation therapy to kill the cancer showed even greater risk of stroke in later life, according to the study, which appears in the Nov. 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology and is available online.

"This is important because leukemia and brain tumors are the two most common types of childhood cancer, representing more than half of childhood cancers," said

Dr. Daniel Bowers, associate professor of pediatrics and lead author of the study.

Other studies have shown that survivors of childhood leukemia or brain cancer are also at higher risk for cardiac dysfunction, obesity, short stature, and hormone and neuro-cognitive deficits. This is the first study to examine the risk to survivors for late-occurring strokes, which occur at least five years after their cancer diagnosis.

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