As people continue to live longer and the survival rate of cancer diagnoses increases, researchers from VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center led a multi-decade analysis studying the rates of subsequent primary cancers (SPCs), which are new cancers unrelated to the original diagnosis. The study, which was recently published in PLOS Medicine, provides understanding for how these cancer risks change over time and across generations, helping guide future prevention and monitoring measures.

A team of Massey researchers used cancer registry data from over three million cancer survivors in the United States from 1975-2021 to study patterns of SPCs, examining age, calendar period and birth cohort effects on SPC risk.