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Childhood leukemia, CNS tumor survivors had lower educational attainment
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Childhood cancer survivors of leukemia or central nervous system tumors achieved lower-than-expected educational success compared to the general population.
The study included 10,183 cancer survivors from the British Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. Researchers were testing for educational attainment at a university degree level, teaching qualification level, or two levels of secondary school (advanced, or A level; ordinary, or O level). Data for the control group was obtained from the General Household Survey of Great Britain.
Survivors had lower education attainment levels for all levels of education: degree level (OR=0.77); teaching qualification (OR=0.85), A level (OR=0.85); O level (OR=0.81; P<.001 for all).
When the data were analyzed by cancer type, survivors of CNS tumors and leukemia had greater deficits in education attainment compared to other cancer types.
In particular, CNS tumors in patients treated with and without radiation had deficits at all education levels. The deficits for those treated with radiation were: degree level (OR=0.31); teaching qualification (OR=0.46), A level (OR=0.42); O level (OR=0.37; P<.001 for all). The deficits for those treated without radiation were: degree level (OR=0.58); teaching qualification (OR=0.62), A level (OR=0.67); O level (OR=0.72; P<.001 for all).
In patients treated with cranial irradiation for leukemia the deficits were: degree level (OR=0.60); teaching qualification (OR=0.77), A level (OR=0.76); O level (OR=0.72; P<.001 for all).
“These results provide grounds for concern for survivors of CNS neoplasms and those with leukemia who were cranially irradiated, as well as reassurance regarding education attainment among all other survivors,” the researchers wrote.
Lancashire ER. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2010;doi:10.1093/jnci/djp498.