Cancer is rare in children, and pediatric malignancies represent only 1% of all cancers.
Objectives: The cure rate is high and increasing, and ongoing data collection is therefore warranted.
Materials and methods: Here we report the incidence and survival rates of childhood cancers between 1987 and 1999 in the Rhône-Alpes region of France.
Results: A total of 1945 cases were recorded during the study period, with an average of 149.6 new cases per year. The approximate incidence rate was 134.1/10(6) per year and the age-standardized incidence rate was 139.2/10(6) per year. The histological distribution and 5-year survival rates were respectively 30.2 and 73% for leukemia, 12.3 and 91.6% for lymphoma, 24.7 and 60.1% for CNS tumors, 9.1 and 71.1% for neuroblastoma, 2.5 and 94.1% for retinoblastoma, 5.8% and 89.9% for renal tumors, 1 and 75% for liver tumors, 6.1 and 60.9% for bone tumors, 4.1 and 58.6% for soft-tissue tumors, 1.1 and 71% for germ cell tumors, and 2.4 and 85.1% for carcinomas.
Conclusion: The overall survival rate was 75%. Long-term treatment complications warrant further studies of children who survive into adulthood.