Saving the Children — Improving Childhood Cancer Treatment in Developing Countries

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Abstract
Unprecedented gains have been made in the cure rates for childhood cancer during the past four decades. This progress reflects steady improvement in treatment protocols, a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, adequate hospital infrastructure, and psychosocial and economic support for affected families. Perhaps the greatest success has been the 80 percent cure rate among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who are treated in a modern center. Most of these survivors have long, productive lives, are well integrated into their communities, and make substantial contributions to society.1 But this story of medical achievement is tempered by the harsh reality that more than 60 percent of the world's children with cancer have little or no access to effective therapy, and their survival rates are predictably inferior to those in countries with advanced health care systems. The geographic inequality in cancer treatment poses challenges that have only begun to be addressed.2,3