Future Perspective
The improved long-term survival of children with malignancy has been achieved at the cost of significant late toxicity, with chronic renal damage being an important component of long-term morbidity for many survivors. The very long-term outlook for these individuals is guarded given the expected decline in renal function experienced by even healthy individuals in later life.
Therefore, it is very important that future treatments for childhood cancer should have less nephrotoxic potential, ideally as a result of the development of less toxic yet still effective treatments, or alternatively by the introduction of renoprotective strategies that do not impair antitumor efficacy.
Until these goals are achieved, the prediction of patients at higher risk of developing nephrotoxicity remains of fundamental importance, either by better understanding of risk factors or by developing more sensitive and specific investigation strategies to identify incipient yet still reversible toxicity.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Pediatr Health. 2010;4(5):519-538. © 2010 Future Medicine Ltd.
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