Sir.—Wasserman et al1 reported concern among childhood cancer survivors regarding recurrence of cancer or the occurrence of a second neoplasm. Survivors of childhood cancer are at risk of developing a second neoplasm, a risk generally attributed to carcinogenicity of chemotherapy and radiotherapy as well as inborn susceptibility to cancer. Because of this risk, survivors of childhood cancer might be expected to be more vigilant than other family members regarding factors that would predispose them for another occurrence of cancer.
Wasserman et al also reported increased risk-taking behavior among some of the survivors. We would propose that cigarette smoking is a risk-taking behavior and one that should be avoided among childhood cancer survivors.
Corkery et al2 suggested that smoking would potentiate the risk of second cancers in these survivors and advocated strong smoking-cessation efforts among cancer-prone patients and their families. To determine if survivors differ from their siblings