Childhood cancer survival in Cuba

Reports dealing with childhood cancer population-based survival have not ye t been published in Cuba. A survival study including cases reported to the National Cancer Registry in the period 1988-1989 have been accomplished in the National Cancer Registry of Cuba. A comprehensive view of its results i n childhood cancer is intended to be shown in this paper. All sites childho od cancer cases aged below 15 years (400) and reported in this period were included derived from a total of 578 incident cases. Vital status of cases was checked-up to December of 1994 by a mixed follow-up. Survival analysis was achieved by the life-table method using the SPSS for Windows software. Relative survival rates were not included because no differences were appre ciated with the observed ones. Cases between 0-4 years and females account for the highest frequencies. Leukaemia accounts for 27% of the cases, follo wed by lymphomas and tumours of the central nervous system. Lymphoid and no n-lymphoid acute leukaemia had 41 and 9% 5-year survival rate respectively being the latter comparable with Bangalore, India (10%). For lymphomas, Hod gkin's disease present better prognosis compared with non-Hodgkin lymphoma with 73 and 35% 5-year survival rates, respectively. Figures are comparable to the corresponding to Bangalore, India (72 and 33%, respectively). For t ime trends survival distribution were compared by period of diagnosis (1982 /1988-1989). In all cases differences resulted statistically non-significan t with lower rates for 1988-1989 except for lymphomas. International report s show increasing time trends for childhood cancer. Nevertheless, these res ults may serve as a milestone for future comparisons, corresponding with th e creation of the National Program for Childhood Cancer Control and future studies will confirm the success of its measures.