Population survival from childhood cancer in Britain during 1978–2005 by eras of entry to clinical trials

Annonc.oxfordjournals.org: 7/17/12.

Inclusion in clinical trials is generally viewed as best practice for most newly diagnosed childhood cancers, but the impact on population-based survival has rarely been examined.

Patients and methods The population-based data were analysed for 25 853 children (66% of all registered childhood cancers) diagnosed in Britain during 1978–2005 with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, medulloblastoma, neuroblastoma, Wilms tumour, hepatoblastoma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and germ-cell tumours. The Kaplan–Meier survival curves were compared by log-rank tests. Time trends were analysed by Cox regression. Separate analyses were done for children with ALL, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma according to clinically relevant age thresholds. Read More