Childhood cancer increasingly survivable as treatment improves
Improved diagnostics and treatments mean that the survival rate for children with cancer continues to increase, the Comprehensive Cancer Centre of the Netherlands (IKNL) reported. Of the children diagnosed with cancer between 2010 and 2018, 84 percent were still alive five years later. For children diagnosed between 1990 and 1999, this was still 74 percent. The prognosis varies widely between the different types of cancer.
“It is good to see that the survival rate of childhood cancer has further improved,” said Professor Doctor René Medema, the chief scientific officer of the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology. “But across the board, there are still too many children with an extremely poor prognosis: the tumors that are the most difficult to treat remain.”
The most progress was made with the diagnosis and treatment of leukemia - one of the most common types of cancer in children. The chance of survival increased from 74 percent in the 1990s to 88 percent now.
The progress is mainly due to smarter treatment, Henrike Karim-Kos, a researcher at the IKNL and the Princess Máxima Centre for Pediatric Oncology, told NOS. “Thirty years ago, all children with leukemia were treated in the same way. Now, we divide these children into groups based on the characteristics of the cancer cell. Because we have learned more and more about that.” That means that each patient receives treatment tailored to them.
Around 600 children under the age of 18 are diagnosed with cancer each year. In 2023, 83 children and teenagers died of cancer before their 20th. The most common forms of childhood cancer in the past five years were acute lymphocytic leukemia, low-grade glioma, and Hodgkin lymphoma.
The chance of survival varies greatly depending on the type of cancer. Children have the highest survival rate for Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 98 percent. The prognosis is the worst for high-grade gliomas, a specific type of brain cancer. Five years after diagnosis, only 7 percent of children with this type of cancer are still alive.
“That is why it is so important to continue to bundle the strengths of healthcare professionals and researchers in the Netherlands, in Europe, and worldwide. Only together can we achieve the breakthroughs that are needed to cure all children with cancer, with optimal quality of life,” said Professor Doctor Medema.
