[The long-term side effects following successful anti-tumor therapy. 1: Effects on internal organs, skin, nervous system, skeleton and endocrine glands].

Adverse effects of the treatment of malignant diseases can manifest early and acutely, but may also appear late and become chronic. While the former reactions are usually readily recognizable and well-known, late sequelae have a greater range of fluctuation, depending upon the type of therapy employed (radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or a combination of the two), the drug administered (mechanism of effect, dose) and the influence of the disease itself (type of tumor, curability). The age of the patient is also a considerable factor; thus, treatment of childhood tumors is associated with late sequelae that often do not appear until late adulthood or even in the next generation. This paper discusses a number of the long-term side effects. In the first part, undesired effects on the skin (and hair), lungs and heart, kidneys and the urinary bladder, stomach, bowels and liver, blood vessels, nerves, bones and endocrinological functional disorders, are described.