Study finds link between radiation therapy in children, diabetes

NEW YORK Children with cancer who undergo a common cancer therapy may be at increased risk of developing diabetes, according to research published recently in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers at Emory University found that childhood cancer survivors who had received total-body or abdominal radiation therapy had increased risk of developing cancer, with the risk increasing more than twofold if they received a cancer diagnosis before age 5, compared with those diagnosed in late adolescence. Out of a total of 8,599 survivors diagnosed before age 21, 2.5% developed diabetes, compared with 1.7% of their 2,936 siblings, apparently regardless of body mass index.

“It is likely that this additional chronic disease in childhood cancer survivors, who frequently also sustain damage to the heart, kidneys and endocrine system, will lead to further morbidity and premature mortality,” the authors of the study wrote. “Therefore, it is imperative that clinicians recognize this risk, screen for diabetes and prediabetes when appropriate and approach survivors with aggressive risk-reducing strategies.”