The April 2024 study from Texas Children’s Hospital Cancer and Hematology Center also included a one-hour focus group involving 19 families from the Cancer and Hematology Center Family Advisory Team. Families expressed frustration at the lack of expertise from health professionals on environmental risks, leading to increased anxiety and reliance on misinformation stemming from their own internet research. The discussion revealed a strong need for the development of a pediatric cancer environmental referral service.
“Integrating environmental health into pediatric cancer care can empower patients and families, promote healthier behaviors, and potentially reduce morbidity and mortality in this vulnerable population.” – Shakeel, O.; Wood, N.M.; Thompson, H.M.; Scheurer, M.E.; Miller, M.D.
Exposure to environmental hazards such as air pollution, tobacco smoke, extreme weather events, and pesticides can negatively affect the health and survival of childhood cancer survivors. Example studies cited include data from Utah shows that children who live in areas with air quality standards for fine particulate matter at or above PM2.5 or higher were associated with a worse overall survival rate among children with some types of cancer; data from Texas shows childhood cancer patients who lived closer to an oil or gas well at the time of diagnosis were associated with worse overall survival rates; data from California shows that when the father of a child with acute myeloid leukemia smoked during the pre-conception period it reduced childhood cancer survivor rates at 5 years.
About
The Childhood Cancer and the Environment Program is a national program of the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (pehsu.net) Network to educate pediatric health care providers, parents, and caregivers about environmental influences on childhood cancers, such as leukemia. Since 2022, the program has educated clinicians and families on practical ways to both prevent childhood cancer as well as to improve treatment outcomes and survivorship. Program Lead, Mark Miller, MD, MPH, is a pediatrician and Associate Clinical Professor at UCSF.
