Purpose: We aimed to evaluate long-term lung function and respiratory outcomes in young adults who survived common pediatric malignancies, treated in a single center. Methods: We enrolled young adults who had been treated during their childhood or adolescence for hematological or solid cancer at our Pediatric Oncology Unit, and performed pulmonary function tests (PFT) and clinical evaluation. PFT included spirometry and Diffusing Capacity of Lung for Carbon Monoxide (DLCO). Results: We included 121 survivors, mean age 23 years at follow-up, median 15 years from diagnosis. The most common diagnoses were hematological malignancies, mainly acute lymphoblastic leukemia, whereas 31% of the patients were treated for nonhematological cancer, mainly neuroblastoma. Treatments consisted of chemotherapy alone or in combination with radiotherapy and/or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Most of the patients denied respiratory symptoms throughout the years. In the whole group only eight patients (6%) had abnormal PFT, consisting mainly in a restrictive pattern and reduced DLCO. PFT abnormalities were of mild degree in most of the cases. Overall, the mean values of forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and DLCO were normal, but lower in females, in those who received radiotherapy and in those treated for lymphoma. Conclusion: In a group of young adults, surviving the most common childhood malignancies, we found a preserved lung function after a median follow-up of 15 years. The constantly increasing survival in childhood cancer is now associated with a trend toward an improvement in long-term respiratory outcomes.
Keywords: DLCO; acute leukemia; adolescents; cancer; chemotherapy; childhood; lung function; survivors.