St. Jude LIFE Study

Pediatric cancer treatments save lives, but can increase health risks for survivors during adulthood. St. Jude LIFE is an unprecedented research study that brings long-term childhood cancer survivors back to St. Jude for regular health screenings throughout their adult lives.

To date, more than 4,300 participants and 580 controls have undergone comprehensive health evaluations through St. Jude LIFE. We track a wide range of health outcomes, using measures of cardiac, reproductive, neuromuscular, neurocognitive, and psychosocial function, among others. 

The unique findings from St. Jude LIFE are helping our survivors learn more about their individual health needs, and providing our researchers with novel insights into the late effects of cancer therapy.

To date, the study has made significant advances in:

• Identifying new and unexpected late health effects 
• Describing how cancer therapies impact organ function 
• Developing innovative methods to monitor health risks
• Whole genome sequencing
• Describing the burden of chronic health conditions

By better identifying and tracking long-term health outcomes, our goal is to help survivors of childhood cancer take control of their health and enjoy longer, healthier adulthoods. 

Our insights are also helping St. Jude researchers develop improved cancer treatments to minimize the late effects of therapy.