The BJC is owned by Cancer Research UK, a charity dedicated to understanding the causes, prevention and treatment of cancer and to making sure that the best new treatments reach patients in the clinic as quickly as possible. The journal reflects these aims. It was founded more than fifty years ago and, from the start, its far-sighted mission was to encourage communication of the very best cancer research from laboratories and clinics in all countries. The breadth of its coverage, its editorial independence and it consistent high standards, have made BJC one of the world's premier general cancer journals. Its increasing popularity is reflected by a steadily rising impact factor.

Background: Childhood or adolescent cancer survivors are at increased risks of subsequent primary neoplasms (SPN) of the central nervous system (CNS) after cranial irradiation. In a large multicentric cohort, we investigated clinical and therapeutic factors associated with the long-term risk of CNS SPN, and quantified the dose–response relationships. Methods: We selected all CNS SPN cases diagnosed up to 2016 among members of the French Childhood Cancer Survivor Study at least 5 years after first cancer diagnosis in 1946–2000. Four controls per case were randomly selected within the cohort and matched by sex, year of/age at first cancer diagnosis, and follow-up time. On the basis of medical and radiological reports, cumulative radiation doses received to the SPN or matched location were retrospectively estimated using mathematical phantoms. We computed conditional logistic regression models. Results: Meningioma risk significantly increased with higher radiation doses [excess OR per Gy (EOR/Gy) = 1.377; P < 0.001; 86 cases; median latency time = 30 years], after adjustment for reported genetic syndromes and first CNS tumor. It was higher among youngest individuals at first cancer diagnosis, but did not vary with follow-up time. On the opposite, radiation-related glioma risk (EOR/Gy = 0.049; P = 0.11; 47 cases; median latency time = 17 years) decreased over time (P for time effect = 0.05). There was a significant association between meningioma risk and cumulative doses of alkylating agents, but no association with growth hormone therapy. Conclusions: The surveillance of patients with cranial irradiation should continue beyond 30 years after treatment. Impact: The identified risk factors may inform long-term surveillance strategies.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is commonly used for patients with prostate cancer because it allows dose escalation to the tumor while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissues such as the bladder and rectum.^1,2 This reduction may be at the expense of increased radiation exposure to more distant tissues from scatter radiation, particularly the red bone marrow, compared with the exposure from 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), the previous standard radiotherapy technique.¹ Simulation studies have suggested this reduced radiation exposure could double the risk of second primary cancers.³ To date, however, no observational studies have directly compared second cancer rates after IMRT to 3D-CRT for prostate cancer.⁴ We compared the risks of leukemia and myelodysplasia (of particular concern given the potentially higher bone marrow dose and because they can occur as early as 2 years after exposure⁵) and second solid cancers after IMRT vs 3D-CRT in a large cohort of prostate cancer patients.