Some Pediatric Cancer Treatments Tied to Faster Aging in Survivors

Dr. Zhaoming Wang and colleagues at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital found that certain cancer treatments are more strongly linked to accelerated aging in survivors of pediatric cancer.

Wang noted that while curing the cancer is the top priority, clinicians can help reduce long-term risks by tailoring treatment, such as lowering doses of radiation or chemotherapy or substituting less harmful drugs, without compromising the chance of survival.

Senior scientist Meng Zhang added that survivors also play a role in protecting their long-term health by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, staying active, avoiding smoking and risky drinking, getting enough sleep and caring for their mental well-being.

Wang is a full member of the Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control and the Department of Computational Biology at St. Jude, where he also serves on the faculty of the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the institution’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. Zhang is a senior scientist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Transcript

Your research shows that certain treatments are more strongly linked to accelerated aging. What role do clinicians and survivors have in helping to reduce those long-term risks?

Wang: Well, yeah, so certainly — I mean, the curative part is important. You know, treatment cures; you have to cure the cancer first, and then worry about the side effects, right? I think the — you know, I would say that clinicians will make their own judgment. First, we need to cure the pediatric cancer, and then, within that range, can we lower the dose of radiation? Can we lower the dose of chemo agents while still being able to cure and save people’s lives? Maybe different chemotherapy drugs can be used in place of certain others in the protocol. And that sort of tailoring — tailored therapy for cancer treatment — that’s something pediatric cancer clinicians can work on and think about before the patient becomes a long-term survivor.

Zhang: Yeah, also, I think the survivors themselves can pay attention to their lifestyle — like try to maintain a healthy lifestyle, attend to physical activity, not smoke or do risky drinking, sleep well, pay attention to their mental health. All those can really mitigate the effects of the treatment.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.