Childhood cancer survival and future challenges

Abstract

The history of childhood cancer treatment is one of the major success stories of the second part of the 20th century, where cure rate improved from no survival in 1950 to more than 70% currently. This is due to the development of dedicated paediatric oncology units, prospective clinical trials, and improved supportive care. Challenges for the 21st century include finding therapies that will cure the other 30% of children and reduce the complications of treatment. Only about 20% of the world’s children have access to this type of specialised care and a major focus area is how to ensure improved access to these treatment modalities for the other 80% of the world’s children.