The growing prevalence of childhood cancer survivors in Australia

Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and Cancer Council Queensland (Australia) counted the number of people living in Australia who had been diagnosed with cancer between 1983 and 2018 while aged 0–14 years. They found that approximately 1 in every 1000 Australians under the age of 50 years had been diagnosed with cancer before their 15th birthday. The results were published in Pediatric Blood & Cancer.

The research team used population-based data from the Australian Childhood Cancer Registry to identify children who were aged 0–14 years at the time of their cancer diagnosis in 1983–2018. Among them, 17 468 survivors aged 0–49 years were living in Australia on 31 December 2018. The team also calculated that the number of 5-year prevalent cases had increased from 1979 in 1988 to 3566 in 2018, an increase of 80%.

Based on the observed time trend of prevalence, which is determined by the evolution of incidence and survival, the authors expect that childhood cancer prevalence in Australia will continue to increase and exert rising demands on the health system. The authors note that monitoring both short-term and long-term prevalence is essential to plan for the health services and infrastructure required to meet the needs of the growing population of survivors of childhood cancer.

Youlden DR, Steliarova-Foucher E, Gini A, De Paula Silva N, Aitken JF.
The growing prevalence of childhood cancer survivors in Australia
Pediatr Blood Cancer, Published online 24 April 2023;
https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.30383