Why childhood brain cancer survivors are more prone to heart disease, diabetes

Though survivors of childhood brain tumours have a body mass index similar to healthy children, they have more fat tissue than them, especially around the abdomen.

A team of researchers has shed light on why survivors of childhood brain tumours may be prone to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and early death.

Now we know why childhood cancer survivors are at a high risk of early death despite winning over the disease.(SHutterstock)

The McMaster University researchers discovered that though survivors of childhood brain tumours have a body mass index similar to healthy children, they have more fat tissue than them, especially around the abdomen.

“These findings suggest that one of the most important risk factors for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, which is excess total and central fat in the body, is present relatively early in survivors of childhood brain tumors” said senior author Constantine Samaan. “This may program their future risk of these diseases and impact their outcomes.”

He added, “This indicates that these children need further monitoring for the factors that increase their risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes, and that targeted therapies and prevention strategies are needed to deal with the early risk factors to improve survival and the quality of life of survivors.”

The study is published today in Scientific Reports.

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