Epidemiology Research
 Understanding the Ethnic and Racial Differences in Survival in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Children's Oncology Group StudyPrincipal Investigator at CHLA: Kathleen Meeske, PH.D. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood malignancy, with a five-year survival rate approaching 80%. Several studies have shown significant differences in survival among ethnic and racial groups. African-American children have had the poorest and Asians the best outcome. The outcome for Hispanics has been intermediate between those for Caucasians and African-Americans. The overall goal of this study is to better understand the reasons for these differences in outcomes, thus building a framework for appropriate intervention(s) to address this problem in the future. Umbrella Long-Term Follow-Up Protocol: A Children's Oncology Group Study The use of cancer therapy at an early age can produce complications that may not become apparent until years later as the child matures. Therefore, ongoing evaluation of childhood cancer survivors is essential. Successfully contacting patients decades following completion of their treatment protocols is crucial to this process. The aims of this study are to develop a mechanism for tracking and retaining patients enrolled on Children's Oncology Group (COG) protocols to facilitate the collection of protocol-specific outcome data. Childhood Cancer: Gender Differences Advances in treatment have resulted in a dramatic increase in long-term survival of children/adolescents diagnosed with cancer. As this population of cancer survivors has grown, late effects, the unintended consequences of cancer therapy treatment, have become apparent. A recent review article suggests that female cancer survivors have a higher risk of developing a number of treatment-related late effects than male cancer survivors. Our understanding of gender differences in acute toxicities, complications that occur during active treatment, is poor. The purpose of this study is to use existing clinical data to explore if toxicities experienced during active therapy differ for males and females. Registries of Excellence: Improving Research Follow-Up and Research Availability of Adolescent and Young Patients in the Population-Based Cancer Registry Registry-based research studies involving adolescent and young adult cancer patients are severely hampered by poor response rates and large numbers of patients lost to follow-up. The purpose of this study is to determine the reasons for the high proportion of young adult patients for whom the patient contact information does not appear to be valid and the characteristics of patients who are subsequently lost to follow-up. This study is funded by the National Institute of Health. |