Leukaemia Research response to recent press on UK childhood cancer survival
Leukaemia Research
Release Date: 3 August 2007
Articles published in newspapers on 1st August picked up a commentary from the journal Lancet Oncology which indicates that children with cancer treated in the UK have a poorer chance of survival than in several other European countries.
The commentary is based on two papers published in the European Journal of Cancer which analysed cancer survival data between 1977 and 1997 which, although collected up to as much as 30 years ago, is the best available for comparing the outcome of treatment with other European countries. A reason for the apparent poorer outcome was probably inferior treatment protocols but in the past ten years treatments have improved with the emphasis on pan-European, multinational trials.
The authors have indicated that one of the most likely factors leading to the poorer survival was delayed diagnosis of cancer in children. This is thought to be most marked for solid tumours, which is why the two examples of Wilm’s tumour (nephroblastoma) and neuroblastoma were chosen.
Leukaemia Research welcomes this valuable contribution to the debate on how best children with cancer can be cared for but we would emphasise that it should not cause concern for parents of children with leukaemia. There is no specific reference to either leukaemia or lymphoma in children. In the case of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), which is the commonest childhood leukaemia, the current UK ALL 2003 trial, is anticipated to improve overall survival beyond the current 80%.
NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) issued a guidance document Improving Outcomes in Children and Young People with Cancer in 2005 and addresses all aspects of diagnosis and treatment of young people with cancer.
