The overall outlook and prognosis for long-term remission have continued to improve for children with certain cancers. A disease-free remission rate of over 80% at three years or greater from diagnosis has been observed in many situations in pediatric oncology, including children with Hodgkin's disease in all stages,1 children with Wilms' tumors that have favorable histologic findings,2 and children with the more favorable subtypes of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).3
An important aspect of ongoing care is to monitor and assess the quality of life and potential problems in the long-term survivors of childhood cancer. Cooperative groups (such as the Children's Cancer Study Group and the National Wilms' Tumor Study) involved in the design of treatment of childhood cancer have developed lateeffects study groups to evaluate the long-term outcome of cancer treatment. Individual pediatric oncology centers also have a responsibility to monitor these outcomes.