Clinical evaluation of late outcomes in Dutch childhood cancer
survivors: methodology of the DCCSS LATER study part 2
Abstract
Background Childhood cancer survivors face late health problems; despite
advances in research, details on risk remain unclear. We describe the
methodological aspects of the Dutch Childhood Cancer Survivor Study
(DCCSS) cross-sectional clinical study (LATER 2 study). Procedure From
the multi-center DCCSS LATER cohort of 6,165 five-year survivors
diagnosed 1963-2001, we invited 4,735 eligible in 2016, as well as
siblings and parents of survivors. Gaps in evidence identified during
development of surveillance guidelines were translated into clinical
research questions for 16 outcome-specific sub-projects. The regular
care visit to the LATER outpatient clinic forms the backbone of outcome
assessment complemented with research-defined measurements (physical
examination, diagnostic tests, questionnaires). Furthermore,
blood/saliva samples were taken for DNA extraction. Results In total,
2519 (53.2%) survivors participated in the LATER 2 study. Of those
participating survivors, 49.3% was female. Median time since childhood
cancer diagnosis was 26.9 years (range 14.8 to 54.7 years) and median
attained age was 34.4 years (range 15.4 to 66.6 years). Conclusions The
high-quality data generated in the LATER 2 study will provide valuable
insights into risks of and risk factors for clinical and (psychosocial)
health outcomes and factors for early recognition of (psychosocial)
health outcomes in long-term childhood cancer survivors. This will
contribute to fill in important gaps in knowledge and improve the
quality of life and care for childhood cancer survivors.