Photo by Bill Branson
Child with leukemia
New research has revealed global inequalities in survival rates for pediatric patients with leukemia.
Investigators analyzed data on nearly 90,000 pediatric leukemia patients treated in 53 countries.
In most countries, patients with lymphoid leukemias or acute myeloid leukemia (AML) saw an increase in 5-year survival between 1995 and 2009.
However, there were wide variations in survival between the countries.
The investigators reported these findings in The Lancet Haematology.
They evaluated data from 89,828 leukemia patients (ages 0 to 14) included in 198 cancer registries in 53 countries.
The team estimated 5-year net survival for patients with AML or lymphoid leukemias (controlling for non-leukemia-related deaths) by calendar period of diagnosis—1995–1999, 2000–2004, and 2005–2009—in each country.
For children diagnosed with lymphoid leukemias between 1995 and 1999, 5-year survival rates ranged from 10.6% (in China) to 86.8% (in Austria). For children diagnosed between 2005 and 2009, the rates ranged from 52.4% (Colombia) to 91.6% (Germany).
For AML, 5-year survival rates ranged from 4.2% (China) to 72.2% (Sweden) in patients diagnosed between 1995 and 1999. For children diagnosed between 2005 and 2009, 5-year survival rates ranged from 33.3% (Bulgaria) to 78.2% (Germany).
The investigators noted that, in some countries, survival for both groups of leukemia patients was consistently high.
In Austria, for example, 5-year survival rates for lymphoid leukemias were 86.8% in 1995-1999 and 91.1% in 2005-2009. For AML, rates were 60.1% and 72.6%, respectively.
Other countries saw substantial increases in survival over time.
In China, the 5-year survival rate for patients with lymphoid leukemias increased from 10.6% in 1995-1999 to 69.2% in 2005-2009. For patients with AML, the rate increased from 4.2% to 41.1%.
“These findings show the extent of worldwide inequalities in access to optimal healthcare for children with cancer,” said study author Audrey Bonaventure, MD, PhD, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the UK.
“Providing additional resources, alongside evidence-based initiatives such as international collaborations and treatment guidelines, could improve access to efficient treatment and care for all children with leukemia. This would contribute substantially to reducing worldwide inequalities in survival.”
