TriangleFOR PATIENTS · SOURCE READING
Side effects and late effects of treatment
Source: Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (PDQ®)–Patient Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: April 15, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
Cancer treatments can cause side effects. Which side effects your child might have depends on the type of treatment they receive, the dose, and how their body reacts. Talk with your child's treatment team about which side effects to look for and ways to manage them.
To learn more about side effects that begin during treatment for cancer, visit Side Effects.
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Problems from cancer treatment that begin 6 months or later after treatment and continue for months or years are called late effects.
Late effects of cancer treatment may include:
Physical problems, including problems with the heart, blood vessels, liver, or bones, and fertility.
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Changes in mood, feelings, thinking, learning, or memory. Children younger than 4 years who have received radiation therapy to the brain have a higher risk of these effects.
Second cancers (new types of cancer) or other conditions, such as brain tumors, thyroid cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, and myelodysplastic syndrome.
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Some late effects may be treated or controlled. It is important to talk with your child's doctors about the possible late effects caused by some treatments. Learn more about Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer.
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Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice