Nickhill Bhakta on the Burden of Adult Survivors of Pediatric Cancer

Nickhill Bhakta, MD, fellow at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, discusses disease burden on adult survivors of pediatric cancer.

As cure rates for some childhood cancers reach 80% to 90%, understanding the late effects of treatment is becoming increasingly important to investigate. Researchers and doctors are also asking how treatment, specifically radiation and chemotherapy, can be altered to reduce certain effects later in life.

But what is still lacking is an understanding of the total morbidity that adult survivors of pediatric cancers are facing.