Future Challenges and Opportunities to Improve Outcomes for Children with Leukemia

Abstract

The past 50 years have seen remarkable progress in improving the survival of children with cancer (Smith et al. 2010). Among the greatest of these successes are the outcomes for children with acute leukemia. To better understand the incidence and survival for children with all cancers, including leukemia, a comprehensive analysis was recently performed in the United States using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 9 (SEER 9) Registry (Smith et al. 2010). This data showed an increased incidence rate for all cancers in children less than 20 years of age during the years 1975 through 2006 (Fig. 13.1). The incidence rates for lymphoid leukemia increased significantly during this time period, with an annual percentage change of 0.8%. Mortality rates for all childhood cancers combined declined by more than 50%, with an estimated 38,032 childhood cancer deaths averted in the United States during this 31-year time period (Fig. 13.2). Remarkably, there was a 64% reduction in mortality rates attributable to leukemia. However, despite these significant reductions in leukemia-specific mortality rates, death due to leukemia remained the leading cause of cancer death in children in both 1975 and in 2006.