Population-based study of mortality after cancer diagnosis among children with congenital heart disease in Denmark and Sweden

In recent decades the childhood cancer survival has improved considerably. However, the prognosis after a cancer diagnosis among children with congenital heart disease (CHD), the most prevalent birth defect, remains unclear. A population-based cohort study in Denmark and Sweden found that after 1990, children with CHD had similar five-year mortality after a cancer diagnosis as their counterparts without CHD, except for children diagnosed with lymphoma. After a lymphoma diagnosis, the five-year mortality was more than 3 times higher among children with CHD compared with children without CHD (HR 3.37; 95% CI 1.65-6.89). The authors conclude that these results underscore the need for continued research and interventions to improve outcomes for this vulnerable group.