Join PEHSU’s Childhood Cancer & the Environment Program on February 23, 2026 from 3 to 4pm Eastern, to learn more about Childhood Cancer and the Environment, with presenters from Murcia, Spain. The title of their talk is “Guardians of Planetary Health: Moving Childhood Cancer Care Upstream from Day Zero.”
Survival in childhood cancer has improved substantially over recent decades. However, treatment-related mortality, preventable complications, and long-term morbidity remain major challenges—particularly during active treatment. Most current care models act too late, focusing on survivorship after therapy while overlooking environmental, social, and exposomic determinants present from the moment of diagnosis.
In this session, we present the Murcia upstream (“río arriba”) model, a pioneering and evidence-based approach that integrates pediatric environmental health into pediatric oncology from day zero. This model reframes survivorship as a process that begins at diagnosis and continues across the life course, combining clinical oncology with early, actionable environmental interventions.
The approach includes structured assessment and mitigation of key modifiable exposures—such as indoor and outdoor air quality, tobacco smoke, diet, housing conditions, and filtration strategies (including HEPA)—implemented during active treatment, when vulnerability and preventability are highest. By acting upstream, the model aims to reduce infections, toxicity, treatment-related mortality, and avoidable complications, while improving quality of life and long-term outcomes.
We will showcase how this ambiomic, network-based model is being implemented and scaled through collaboration between PEHSU-Murcia, Madrid (Hospital La Paz), and Barcelona (HSJD), while simultaneously training the next generation of pediatric environmental health leaders. The session highlights real-world implementation, early intervention strategies, and workforce development as essential pillars for transforming pediatric oncology care.
This experience from Murcia demonstrates how integrating environmental health, planetary health, and pediatric oncology—through teamwork, evidence, and early action—can move childhood cancer care upstream and offer a scalable blueprint for health systems worldwide.
Presenters
Upstream Pediatric Oncology: Building an Ambiomic, Network-Based Model from Murcia to the World Juan Antonio Ortega García, MD, PhD (5 min)
Early Environmental Interventions During Active Cancer Treatment: Air, Diet, and Real-World Exposome Control Francisco Díaz Martínez, MSc (12 min)
Embedding Environmental Health into Pediatric Oncology: The First Dedicated Clinic in Madrid
Isabel Martínez Romera, MD, PhD (12 min)
Training the Next Generation: Environmental Pediatrics as a Core Competency across the Childhood Cancer Continuum
Alba Mateu, MD (Pediatric Resident – HSJD) (12 min)