Ototoxicity (hearing loss, tinnitus and/or balance dysfunction) is a serious adverse event that can develop during or after childhood cancer treatment. Up to about 70% of children treated with cisplatin are at risk of developing hearing loss. Ototoxicity may have a considerable impact on the quality of life of childhood cancer patients and survivors. During this project, the influence of clinical and genetic risk factors on hearing loss development in children with cancer is being assessed. Tinnitus remains a poorly understood phenomenon. To gain better insight into this condition, the prevalence and risk factors of tinnitus in childhood cancer survivors is being investigated. Lastly, standardized recommendations for audiological testing during cancer treatment are being developed in order to detect ototoxicity as early as possible. The ultimate goal of this project is to identify children at high risk of ototoxicity development who can be offered an otoprotective agent in the future.
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