Childhood cancer:

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally; cancer burden is estimated to have risen to 18.1 million new cases and is responsible for an estimated 9.6 million deaths in 2018. Globally, about 1 in 6 deaths is due to cancer. Approximately 70% of deaths from cancer occur in low- and middle-income countries. Deaths from cancer worldwide are projected to continue to rise to over 13.1 million in 2030.

Each year, more than 300,000 children ages birth to 19 years are diagnosed with cancer around the world. Approximately 8 in 10 of these children live in low and middle-income countries where their survival rate is often near 20%. This is in stark contrast to high-income countries, where cure rates exceed 80% for many common childhood cancers.

As per GOLBACON 2018,in India 11, 57,294 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in 2018. Breast cancer was the leading cancer among female and oral cancer was the leading cancer among male. The proportion of childhood cancers relative to cancers in all age groups varied between 0.7% and 4.4%. Cancer is the 9th common cause for the deaths among children between 5 to 14 years of age. The age-adjusted incidence rates (AARs) per million of 235.3 for boys and 152.3 for girls at Population Based Cancer Registry Delhi, were highest in the country during the period, 2012-14.

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