Also in the April 7 JNCI( Subsequent Malignancy a Major Cause...),Health

Subsequent Malignancy a Major Cause of Death in Long-Term Survivors of Hereditary Retinoblastoma

Long-term survivors of hereditary retinoblastoma are at an increased risk of death due to a second cancer, according to a large cohort study.

Retinoblastoma is a very rare cancer of the eye that affects approximately 300 children in the U.S. each year. Survivors of retinoblastoma are at risk of subsequent malignancies but information on the risk of death due to these subsequent cancers is limited among long-term survivors.

In the current study, Chu-Ling Yu, Sc.D., of the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Md., and colleagues examined the cause of death in a cohort of 1,092 survivors of hereditary retinoblastoma and in 762 survivors of nonhereditary retinoblastoma who were diagnosed between 1914 and 1996.

The mortality rate due to cancers was 35-fold higher in the hereditary retinoblastoma survivors and 2.5-fold higher in the survivors of nonhereditary retinoblastoma, compared with the general population. A total of 151 hereditary retinoblastoma survivors died due to a subsequent cancer, as did 12 survivors of nonhereditary retinoblastoma. Hereditary retinoblastoma survivors were at particular risk of death due to sarcoma, melanoma, and cancers of the brain and nervous system; the risk extended more than 40 years after their initial diagnosis.

"The temporal patterns of site-specific excess risks of subsequent malignant neoplasms in retinoblastoma survivors should inform screening programs designed for the early detection and treatment of subsequent malignant neoplasms," the authors write. Contact NCI press office, ncipressofficers@mail.nih.gov, 301-496-6641

Disruption of Cytokine Signaling Promotes Gastric Cancer Growth in Mouse Models

Disruption of transforming growth factor- (TGF-) signaling in gastric cancer c
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