Pediatric hematology-oncology outreach for developing countries

Pediatric cancer is highly curable in developed countries. Cure rates appro ach 90% for some tumors, and the overall cure rate has reached 75%.(11) In developing countries, however, cure rates may reach only 25% at best. There are an estimated 210,000 new cases of childhood cancer per year worldwide, and more than 80% of these cases occur in countries that lack the resource s to provide treatment.(7) As shown in Figure 1, this disparity results in a worldwide cure rate of only 33% for childhood cancer. Additionally, as in fant mortality and death from infectious diseases have decreased in develop ing countries, cancer has become a more prominent cause of childhood mortal ity. In Latin America, Thailand, India, and China, cancer has become a lead ing cause of death among children 5 to 15 years old. (14) To address these inequities, institutions and organizations throughout the world are initiat ing international outreach programs. These efforts are often fragmented, an d little information about them is available in the medical literature. Thi s article describes several initiatives throughout the world, outlines the International Outreach Program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, an d offers some suggestions for programs aimed at addressing this significant problem.