Growth trajectories and risk of underweight and overweight in childhood cancer patients and survivors: a longitudinal multicentre cohort study protocol
- 1University of Bern
Abstract
BackgroundUnderweight, overweight, and linear growth during and after cancer treatment can impact treatment efficacy and survival in childhood cancer patients, and long-term health in childhood cancer survivors (CCS). However, scientific evidence on the weight status and growth of CCS is limited. Previous studies have been small, focused on specific cancer types, or lacked objectively measured longitudinal data. The availability of standardized, semantically interoperable routine data from oncology clinics offers an unprecedented opportunity to investigate nutritional status across all childhood cancer types, treatment regimens, and critical time windows.
ObjectivesWe will investigate underweight, overweight, and growth trajectories from birth to adulthood in childhood cancer patients and survivors. We will identify predictors associated with distinct growth and weight trajectories and assess the consistency of findings across European countries.
MethodsThe Growth study will collect routinely recorded sociodemographic, clinical, and anthropometric data from paediatric and adolescent cancer patients (aged <20 years) from Switzerland, Portugal and Slovenia, We will include patients diagnosed between 2004-2026, by linking data from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry (ChCR), the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (SCCSS), the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), and oncology clinics in Switzerland.
Deterministic linkage of data sources (ChCR, SCCSS, oncology clinics, and FSO) will be performed using social security numbers. We will calculate age- and sex-specific z-scores for weight, height, and BMI based on country-specific and World Health Organization growth references. Latent trajectory modelling will be applied to identify distinct growth and weight trajectories and to detect subgroups at increased risk of growth impairment. We will use logistic regression models to identify predictors of impaired growth.
ResultsThe project was funded in 2025; first study results are expected to be published by autumn 2027. We will obtain routinely collected data from approximately 12,250 childhood cancer patients and survivors - 7,800 from Switzerland, 3,350 from Portugal, and 1,100 from Slovenia.
ConclusionsThe Growth study will provide insights into the nutritional status of childhood cancer patients and survivors and improve understanding of growth patterns in this population. Identifying high-risk groups and tumour- or treatment-related factors will inform targeted surveillance strategies and early nutritional interventions.
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BibTeX
@misc{calvello2026growth,
title = {{Growth trajectories and risk of underweight and overweight in childhood cancer patients and survivors: a longitudinal multicentre cohort study protocol}},
author = {A. S. Calvello and L. Annicchiarico and Y. Shoman and L. M. Leuenberger and M. J. Bento and J. Bielicki and C. Boettcher and P. Brazzola and P. Breia and G. Caldas and B. Drexler and D. Drozdov and M. Diezi and J. Jazbec and M. Joerger and D. Konrad and C. E. Kuehni and A. Lourenco and C. Saner and K. Scheinemann and F. Schilling and M. Stefanovic and T. Taveira Gomes and A. O. von Bueren and N. Waespe and A. Wicki and C. Schindera and F. N. Belle and Growth consortium},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.01.26364469},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.26364469v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Growth trajectories and risk of underweight and overweight in childhood cancer patients and survivors: a longitudinal multicentre cohort study protocol
AU - A. S. Calvello
AU - L. Annicchiarico
AU - Y. Shoman
AU - L. M. Leuenberger
AU - M. J. Bento
AU - J. Bielicki
AU - C. Boettcher
AU - P. Brazzola
AU - P. Breia
AU - G. Caldas
AU - B. Drexler
AU - D. Drozdov
AU - M. Diezi
AU - J. Jazbec
AU - M. Joerger
AU - D. Konrad
AU - C. E. Kuehni
AU - A. Lourenco
AU - C. Saner
AU - K. Scheinemann
AU - F. Schilling
AU - M. Stefanovic
AU - T. Taveira Gomes
AU - A. O. von Bueren
AU - N. Waespe
AU - A. Wicki
AU - C. Schindera
AU - F. N. Belle
AU - Growth consortium
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.01.26364469
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.26364469v1
AB - BackgroundUnderweight, overweight, and linear growth during and after cancer treatment can impact treatment efficacy and survival in childhood cancer patients, and long-term health in childhood cancer survivors (CCS). However, scientific evidence on the weight status and growth of CCS is limited. Previous studies have been small, focused on specific cancer types, or lacked objectively measured longitudinal data. The availability of standardized, semantically interoperable routine data from oncology clinics offers an unprecedented opportunity to investigate nutritional status across all childhood cancer types, treatment regimens, and critical time windows. ObjectivesWe will investigate underweight, overweight, and growth trajectories from birth to adulthood in childhood cancer patients and survivors. We will identify predictors associated with distinct growth and weight trajectories and assess the consistency of findings across European countries. MethodsThe Growth study will collect routinely recorded sociodemographic, clinical, and anthropometric data from paediatric and adolescent cancer patients (aged <20 years) from Switzerland, Portugal and Slovenia, We will include patients diagnosed between 2004-2026, by linking data from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry (ChCR), the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (SCCSS), the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), and oncology clinics in Switzerland. Deterministic linkage of data sources (ChCR, SCCSS, oncology clinics, and FSO) will be performed using social security numbers. We will calculate age- and sex-specific z-scores for weight, height, and BMI based on country-specific and World Health Organization growth references. Latent trajectory modelling will be applied to identify distinct growth and weight trajectories and to detect subgroups at increased risk of growth impairment. We will use logistic regression models to identify predictors of impaired growth. ResultsThe project was funded in 2025; first study results are expected to be published by autumn 2027. We will obtain routinely collected data from approximately 12,250 childhood cancer patients and survivors - 7,800 from Switzerland, 3,350 from Portugal, and 1,100 from Slovenia. ConclusionsThe Growth study will provide insights into the nutritional status of childhood cancer patients and survivors and improve understanding of growth patterns in this population. Identifying high-risk groups and tumour- or treatment-related factors will inform targeted surveillance strategies and early nutritional interventions.
ER -