COVID-19 and Childhood Cancer

N/AActive Not RecruitingNCT06482281

Karolinska Institutet100,000 enrolled

Overview

The investigators will first examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood cancer patients in Sweden and Denmark, both regarding susceptibility to severe COVID-19 among long-term childhood cancer survivors, and, for those diagnosed with childhood cancer during the pandemic, whether the path through primary care to cancer diagnosis as well as short-term survival has changed. Second, the investigators will study childhood cancer incidence before, during and after the pandemic with the particular aim to test the hypothesis regarding an infectious disease etiology for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

100,000

Conditions

COVID-19 Childhood Cancer Childhood Leukemia, Acute Lymphoblastic

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 0 YearsMax age: 19 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria for studying severe COVID-19 among childhood cancer survivors: * Childhood cancer cases (age 0-19) diagnosed from 1971 in Sweden and Denmark who were alive five years after diagnosis * Two different comparisons groups: five age- and sex-matched comparisons for each childhood cancer survivor as well as all siblings of the childhood cancer survivors. * All childhood cancer survivors, matched comparisons, and siblings of the survivors should be 20+ at the start of 2020. Inclusion Criteria for studying childhood cancer incidence and survival and number of contacts with healthcare before the childhood cancer diagnosis: \- All children (age 0-19) diagnosed with cancer from 2015 in Sweden and Denmark Exclusion Criteria: * No exclusion criteria

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Severe COVID-19

Defined as: * death with COVID-19 listed as a cause of death * hospitalization, or admission to intensive care unit, because of COVID-19 (main diagnosis) or respiratory problems (main diagnosis) AND COVID-19 as secondary diagnosis

Time frame: Up to 3 years

Childhood cancer survival

Overall survival after a childhood cancer diagnosis

Time frame: After three and twelve months after the cancer diagnosis and three years after cancer diagnosis

Number of contacts before childhood cancer diagnosis

Number of healthcare contacts (including primary care) the year before the cancer diagnosis

Time frame: One year before cancer diagnosis

Childhood cancer incidence

Age standardized incidence rates for childhood cancer and cancer subtypes (particularly acute lymphoblastic leukemia) in Sweden and Denmark during and after the pandemic and compare it to the 5 years preceding the pandemic

Time frame: From 2015