Estimated number of children affected by paternal cancer diagnosis and death in Finland during 1970–2022: a population-based registry study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Parental cancer effects millions of children worldwide. We estimated the number of children influenced by paternal cancer and paternal orphans, and examined changes in their numbers and annual rates over time, with a focus on time trends and the influence of cancer type. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Male cancer patients aged ≥15 years, diagnosed since 1953, were identified from the Finnish Cancer Registry. Cancer deaths and information on live births were obtained from Statistics Finland. Annual number of new children and prevalent children whose father was diagnosed with cancer and the annual number of new orphans and prevalent orphans due to paternal cancer death for 1970-2022 were estimated indirectly by combining cancer incidence and mortality data with population-level fertility rates. RESULTS: The estimated age-standardized rate of new children with paternal cancer increased from 96/100,000 children in 1970-1974 to 163/100,000 in 2017-2021. The annual rate of new paternal orphans decreased from 56/100,000 in 1970-1974 to 35/100,000 in 2017-2021. The rate of new children increased 1.1% per year while the rate of new orphans decreased 1.1% in 1970-2021. INTERPRETATION: Although the number of paternal orphans is decreasing due to improved cancer survival, the number of children influenced by paternal cancer is rising reflecting the increasing cancer incidence and resulting in more children vulnerable to the harmful effects of paternal cancer.