Childhood Cancer survival statistics

The great majority of five-year survivors of childhood cancer may be regarded as cured, with only a 10% risk of death from recurrent tumour or a treatment-related cause during the ensuing 10 years 2-4. About 75% of all childhood cancer patients in Britain currently survive for at least five years after diagnosis ( Figure 3.1) 1.

Chart showing the survival of patients after a diagnosis of childhood cancer

Figure 3.1: Percentage of patients still alive five years after diagnosis, childhood cancers, Great Britain, 1992-96

Patients with retinoblastoma, gonadal germ cell tumours and Hodgkin’s lymphoma do particularly well, with five-year survival rates of about 95%. Only one of the common diagnostic groups, primitive neuroectodermal tumours, had a recent five-year survival rate of less than 50%.

Survival in Western Europe is similar to that in the USA 5 but survival in Eastern Europe tends to be lower 6.

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References

  1.  UK Childhood Cancer Research Group, National Registry of Childhood Tumours. 2004.
  2.  Robertson, C.M., M.M. Hawkins, and J.E. Kingston, Late deaths and survival after childhood cancer: implications for cure. Bmj, 1994. 309(6948): p. 162-6.
  3.  Moller, T.R., et al., Decreasing late mortality among five-year survivors of cancer in childhood and adolescence: a population-based study in the Nordic countries. J Clin Oncol, 2001. 19(13): p. 3173-81.
  4.  Mertens, A.C., et al., Late mortality experience in five-year survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer: the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. J Clin Oncol, 2001. 19(13): p. 3163-72.
  5.  Gatta, G., et al., Childhood cancer survival in Europe and the United States. Cancer, 2002. 95(8): p. 1767-72.
  6.  Gatta, G., et al., Childhood cancer survival in Europe. Ann Oncol, 2003. 14 Suppl 5: p. V119-V127.