Long-Term Survivors of Childhood Cancers in the United States

The number of survivors of childhood cancers is expected to increase in the future consequent to the lifesaving advances in treatment introduced after 1970, especially for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Because this population is at increased risk for illness-related morbidity and mortality, appreciating the number of survivors who were treated as children is important both to determining the national cancer burden and planning for the future health care needs of these individuals.