Danny R Youlden1, A Lindsay Frazier2, Sumit Gupta3, Kathy Pritchard-Jones4, Maria L Kirby5, Peter D Baade6, Adèle C Green7, Patricia C Valery8, Joanne F Aitken9. 1. Cancer Council Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia. 2. Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, United States. 3. Division of Haematology/Oncology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 4. UCLH Cancer Collaborative, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom; UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom. 5. Department of Clinical Haematology/Oncology, Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. 6. Cancer Council Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia; School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. 7. QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia; CRUK Manchester Institute and Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom. 8. QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia. 9. Cancer Council Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia; Institute for Resilient Regions, University of Southern Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Electronic address: JoanneAitken@cancerqld.org.au.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Stage of cancer at diagnosis is one of the strongest predictors of survival and is essential for population cancer surveillance, comparison of cancer outcomes and to guide national cancer control strategies. Our aim was to describe, for the first time, the distribution of cases by stage at diagnosis and differences in stage-specific survival on a population basis for a range of childhood solid cancers in Australia. METHODS: The study cohort was drawn from the population-based Australian Childhood Cancer Registry and comprised children (<15 years) diagnosed with one of 12 solid malignancies between 2006 and 2014. Stage at diagnosis was assigned according to the Toronto Paediatric Cancer Stage Guidelines. Observed (all cause) survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, with follow-up on mortality available to 31 December 2015. RESULTS: Almost three-quarters (1256 of 1760 cases, 71%) of children in the study had localised or regional disease at diagnosis, varying from 43% for neuroblastoma to 99% for retinoblastoma. Differences in 5-year observed survival by stage were greatest for osteosarcoma (localised 85% (95% CI = 72%-93%) versus metastatic 37% (15%-59%)), neuroblastoma (localised 98% (91%-99%) versus metastatic 60% (52%-67%)), rhabdomyosarcoma (localised 85% (71%-93%) versus metastatic 53% (34%-69%)), and medulloblastoma (localised 69% (61%-75%) versus metastases to spine 42% (27%-57%)). CONCLUSION: The stage-specific information presented here provides a basis for comparison with other international population cancer registries. Understanding variations in survival by stage at diagnosis will help with the targeted formation of initiatives to improve outcomes for children with cancer.
BACKGROUND: Stage of cancer at diagnosis is one of the strongest predictors of survival and is essential for population cancer surveillance, comparison of cancer outcomes and to guide national cancer control strategies. Our aim was to describe, for the first time, the distribution of cases by stage at diagnosis and differences in stage-specific survival on a population basis for a range of childhood solid cancers in Australia. METHODS: The study cohort was drawn from the population-based Australian Childhood Cancer Registry and comprised children (<15 years) diagnosed with one of 12 solid malignancies between 2006 and 2014. Stage at diagnosis was assigned according to the Toronto Paediatric Cancer Stage Guidelines. Observed (all cause) survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, with follow-up on mortality available to 31 December 2015. RESULTS: Almost three-quarters (1256 of 1760 cases, 71%) of children in the study had localised or regional disease at diagnosis, varying from 43% for neuroblastoma to 99% for retinoblastoma. Differences in 5-year observed survival by stage were greatest for osteosarcoma (localised 85% (95% CI = 72%-93%) versus metastatic 37% (15%-59%)), neuroblastoma (localised 98% (91%-99%) versus metastatic 60% (52%-67%)), rhabdomyosarcoma (localised 85% (71%-93%) versus metastatic 53% (34%-69%)), and medulloblastoma (localised 69% (61%-75%) versus metastases to spine 42% (27%-57%)). CONCLUSION: The stage-specific information presented here provides a basis for comparison with other international population cancer registries. Understanding variations in survival by stage at diagnosis will help with the targeted formation of initiatives to improve outcomes for children with cancer.