Long term outcomes of the Indian childhood cancer survivorship (C2S) cohort: a multicentre study (2016–2024)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: Almost 90% of childhood cancers occur in lower income- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like India, leading to a growing population of cancer survivors. However, data on long-term outcomes and late effects are limited. The Indian Childhood Cancer Survivorship (C2S) Study was envisaged to build a nationwide survivor cohort and systematically capture treatment exposures and long-term outcomes. Methods: The C2S study is a prospective multicentric observational cohort initiated in 2016 under the Indian Pediatric Hematology Oncology Group (InPOG-LE-16-01). Children diagnosed with cancer before 18 years of age and in remission post-treatment were enrolled. Demographic, clinical, and treatment exposure data were collected at respective centres and monitored centrally. Follow-up was conducted every three months, assessing survival, relapse, and abandonment rates. Findings: As of December 2024, the study includes data from 20 centres across India with 5419 survivors being enrolled, with survival data available for 5140. Acute leukemia was the most common diagnosis (40.9%). Common therapeutic exposures included chemotherapy (94.7%), surgery (30.3%), and radiotherapy (26.3%). The 5-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) rates for the entire cohort were 94.5% (95% CI: 93.7-95.3)% and 89.9% (95% CI: 88.8-91.0)%, respectively. For the 2266 survivors with ≥2 years post-treatment follow-up, 5 y-OS and EFS were 98.2 (95% CI: 97.5-98.7)% and 95.7 (95% CI: 94.7-96.6)%, respectively. Interpretation: The C2S study represents the first structured attempt to build a nationwide childhood cancer survivors' cohort in India. This cohort will serve as a denominator for future research on late effects, support the development of survivorship guidelines, and inform policy planning in India and comparable LMIC settings. Funding: There was no dedicated funding for this study.
Authors: Rachna Seth, Gauri Kapoor, Nirmalya Roy Moulik, Prakruthi Kaushik, Nishant Verma, Amita Mahajan, Priyakumari T, Nita Radhakrishnan, Revathi Raj, Amitabh Singh, Sujata Sharma, Venkatraman Radhakrishnan, Sirishia Rani, Parthasarathi Bhattacharyya, Yamini Krishnan, Piali Mandal, Emine A. Rahiman, Prachi Jain, Debasish Sahoo, Debabrata Mohapatra, Gargi Das, Vineeta Gupta, Gurpreet Singh, Shruti Kakkar, Anuj Singh, Prashant Prabhakar, Arun Kumar AR, Jagdish Prasad Meena, Aditya Kumar Gupta, Payal Malhotra, Chandan Kumar, Siyaram Didel, Shilpa Khanna Arora, Veerendra Patil, Anand Prakash, Purva Kanvinde, Maya Prasad, Jagdish Chandra, Purna Kurkure, Ramandeep Arora
Institutions: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, Tata Memorial Hospital, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, King George's Medical University, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Regional Cancer Center, Thiruvananthapuram, Apollo Hospitals, Safdarjang Hospital, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College, Cancer Institute (WIA), Rainbow Children's Hospital, Tata Medical Center, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Max Super Speciality Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhubaneswar, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Dayanand Medical College & Hospital, Christian Medical College, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Jodhpur, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, St.John's Medical College Hospital, Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children, Narayana Health, SRCC Children’s Hospital
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,250
OpenAlex ID: W7128032051