LIFE Cancer Survivorship Database for Pediatric Cancer

The purpose of this study is to develop a mechanism for utilizing the comprehensive clinical
database of childhood cancer survivors at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) for research
purposes. Using clinical information obtained from follow-up visits of childhood cancer
survivors, the database will focus on interventions to improve health status and
health-related quality of life in childhood cancer survivors. This study allows for
establishment and analyses of a research database for LIFE survivors by the investigators
listed herein. Over the last three decades, there has been marked improvement in survival
following childhood cancer, with 5-year survival rates now approaching 80%. However, the use
of cancer therapy at an early age can result in complications that may not be apparent until
years later as the child matures. These resulting complications, called late effects, are
principally related to the specific therapy employed and the age of the child at the time the
therapy was administered. Late effects may affect virtually every body system and
substantially impair quality of life. As many as two-thirds of childhood cancer survivors
develop at least one late effect as a result of treatment, and approximately one-third have a
late effect classified as severe or life threatening.