Educational attainment among long-term survivors of cancer in childhood and adolescence: a Norwegian population-based cohort study

Abstract

Purpose: The number of young cancer survivors has increased over the past few decades due to improvement in treatment regimens, and understanding of long-term effects among the survivors has become even more important. Educational achievements and choice of educational fields were explored here. Methods: Five-year cancer survivors born in Norway during 1965–1985 (diagnosed <19 years) were included in our analysis by linking Norwegian population-based registries. Cox regression was applied to study the educational attainment among survivors of central nervous system (CNS) tumours, those assumed to have received CNS-directed therapy, and other cancer survivors relative to the cancer-free population. Logistic regression was used to compare the choice of educational fields between the cancer survivors at undergraduate and graduate level and the cancer-free population. Results: Overall, a lower proportion of the cancer survivors completed intermediate (67 vs. 70 %), undergraduate (31 vs. 35 %) and graduate education (7 vs. 9 %) compared with the cancer-free population. Deficits in completion of an educational level were mainly observed among survivors of CNS-tumours and those assumed to have received CNS-directed therapy. Choices of educational fields among cancer survivors were in general similar with the cancer-free population at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Conclusion: Survivors of CNS-tumours and those assumed to have received CNS-directed therapy were at increased risk for educational impairments compared with the cancer-free population. Choices of educational fields were in general similar. Implications for Cancer Survivors: Careful follow-up of the survivors of CNS-tumours and those assumed to have received CNS-directed therapy is important at each level of education.