Temporal patterns of childhood cancer survival 1991 to 2016: A nationwide register‐study based on data from the German Childhood Cancer Registry

Abstract

Childhood cancer is the leading disease-related cause of death among under 15 year olds in Europe. Since primary preventive measures are lacking, improving survival probabilities and long-term well-being remain primary goals. With this report, we provide the first long-term assessment and interpretation of patterns in childhood cancer survival in Germany, covering a period of 30 years. Using data from the German Childhood Cancer Registry, we assessed temporal patterns of cancer survival among children (0-14 years) diagnosed in Germany from 1991 to 2016, by cancer type, age at diagnosis and sex. We calculated overall survival (OS) and average annual percentage changes of the respective 5-year OS estimates. OS improved across all cancer types, age groups as well as for boys and girls over time. Five-year OS for all childhood cancers combined increased from 77.8% in 1991-1995 to 86.5% in 2011-2016, with stronger improvements during the early 1990s. The most pronounced survival improvement was seen for acute myeloid leukaemia, at 2% annually and 5-year OS recently reaching 81.5%. Survival improvements for some diagnoses such as neuroblastoma, renal tumours and bone tumours have flattened out. Tremendous enhancements in diagnostics, treatment and supportive care have affected average survival

Registration, incidence patterns, and survival trends of central nervous system tumors among children in Germany 1980–2019: An analysis of 40 years based on data from the German Childhood Cancer Registry

“…The survival from pediatric CNS tumors has notably improved over the past decades, 20,21 although for some tumor types the prognosis remains poor compared to other childhood cancer types. Two comprehensive assessments reported remarkably increasing 5‐year survival estimates over the past decades to recently 73% (all CNS diagnoses combined) in Europe 22–24 and 79% in Germany 21 . Yet, when only malignant CNS tumors were considered, survival estimates were substantially worse; 5‐year survival probabilities remained at 59% 24 and 66%, 21 respectively.…”

“…Two comprehensive assessments reported remarkably increasing 5‐year survival estimates over the past decades to recently 73% (all CNS diagnoses combined) in Europe 22–24 and 79% in Germany 21 . Yet, when only malignant CNS tumors were considered, survival estimates were substantially worse; 5‐year survival probabilities remained at 59% 24 and 66%, 21 respectively. While the survival probability of the most common CNS tumor type, low‐grade gliomas, has improved substantially, these improvements were not observed in medulloblastomas and the majority of malignant gliomas 18 …”

“…9,11,17 Another explanation for the perceived increase in incidence rates was sought in changes of coding and classification schemes, improvements in reporting, and new means of diagnosis, such as the increasing availability of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) 18 scans, which coincided with the uptick in reported CNS tumor incidence rates, especially for low-grade gliomas. 19 The survival from pediatric CNS tumors has notably improved over the past decades, 20,21 although for some tumor types the prognosis remains poor compared to other childhood cancer types. Two comprehensive assessments reported remarkably increasing 5-year survival estimates over the past decades to recently 73% (all CNS diagnoses combined) in Europe [22][23][24] and 79% in Germany.…”