Childhood cancer in high resource settings

Abstract

Treatment of childhood cancer in High income countries (HIC) has been a success story of the 20th century with data demonstrating ever increasing survival. Some countries (for example, the UK) have national and regional registries providing high quality data, whilst in other countries the lack of population based data makes comparison impossible. In middle and low income countries (MIC and LIC) the incidence of childhood cancer appears to be lower than in HIC, almost certainly due to the lack of diagnosing and reporting of cases. There may be poor understanding and recognition of symptoms, presentation to traditional healers, poor access to healthcare facilities in rural areas and lack of diagnostic testing. Once on treatment, abandonment of further care can be multifactorial in underlying cause but subsequent relapse and death may add to suspicion of "western" medicine. Additionally, the presenting symptoms of childhood cancer can mimic common infectious diseases such as malaria so that cases remain undiagnosed. By reflecting on some common examples of childhood cancer it can be helpful to identify the points on the pathway to diagnosis and treatment which demonstrate the differences between HIC and MIC/LIC. Some interventions, such as funding for travel to treatment centres, accommodation and treatment, can make the difference between some treatment and no treatment. Highlighting these opportunities for change will improve outcomes in childhood cancer and raise standards of care for paediatrics in general. We have described the pathway to diagnosis and management of childhood cancers in HIC and presented the pathways for common malignancies in HIC and comparators for MIC/LIC to encourage supportive dialogue to improve measures to widen global access to diagnosis and management for children with these conditions. A longer term goal would be to support registries for population-based data collection as part of wider understanding of cancer on a global scale.

Keywords: Childhood cancer; High income countries; Low income countries; Treatment pathways.