SummaryBackgroundGlobal inequalities in access to health care are reflected in differences in cancer survival. The CONCORD programme was designed to assess worldwide differences and trends in population-based cancer survival. In this population-based study, we aimed to estimate survival inequalities globally for several subtypes of childhood leukaemia.MethodsCancer registries participating in CONCORD were asked to submit tumour registrations for all children aged 0–14 years who were diagnosed with leukaemia between Jan 1, 1995, and Dec 31, 2009, and followed up until Dec 31, 2009. Haematological malignancies were defined by morphology codes in the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third revision. We excluded data from registries from which the data were judged to be less reliable, or included only lymphomas, and data from countries in which data for fewer than ten children were available for analysis. We also excluded records because of a missing date of birth, diagnosis, or last known vital status. We estimated 5-year net survival (ie, the probability of surviving at least 5 years after diagnosis, after controlling for deaths from other causes [background mortality]) for children by calendar period of diagnosis (1995–99, 2000–04, and 2005–09), sex, and age at diagnosis (<1, 1–4, 5–9, and 10–14 years, inclusive) using appropriate life tables. We estimated age-standardised net survival for international comparison of survival trends for precursor-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).FindingsWe analysed data from 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries. During 1995–99, 5-year age-standardised net survival for all lymphoid leukaemias combined ranged from 10·6% (95% CI 3·1–18·2) in the Chinese registries to 86·8% (81·6–92·0) in Austria. International differences in 5-year survival for childhood leukaemia were still large as recently as 2005–09, when age-standardised survival for lymphoid leukaemias ranged from 52·4% (95% CI 42·8–61·9) in Cali, Colombia, to 91·6% (89·5–93·6) in the German registries, and for AML ranged from 33·3% (18·9–47·7) in Bulgaria to 78·2% (72·0–84·3) in German registries. Survival from precursor-cell ALL was very close to that of all lymphoid leukaemias combined, with similar variation. In most countries, survival from AML improved more than survival from ALL between 2000–04 and 2005–09. Survival for each type of leukaemia varied markedly with age: survival was highest for children aged 1–4 and 5–9 years, and lowest for infants (younger than 1 year). There was no systematic difference in survival between boys and girls.InterpretationGlobal inequalities in survival from childhood leukaemia have narrowed with time but remain very wide for both ALL and AML. These results provide useful information for health policy makers on the effectiveness of health-care systems and for cancer policy makers to reduce inequalities in childhood cancer survival.FundingCanadian Partnership Against Cancer, Cancer Focus Northern Ireland, Cancer In...

Background-A previous study has suggested an increased incidence rate of leukaemia from 1978 to 1992 in people aged 0 to 24 years and living in the vicinity of the La Hague nuclear waste reprocessing plant without considering age and cytological type. Setting-The Nord Cotentin region (France) and the island of Alderney (United Kingdom). Study objective-To describe the occurrence of leukaemia for each age group and cytological type from 1978 to 1998 in the same area, using accurate reference incidence rates and adequate estimation of the at risk population. Design-A geographical study of incidence using three zones defined according to their distance from the site (0 to 10 km: Beaumont-Hague electoral ward, 10 to 20 km and 20 to 35 km) has been conducted. The risk of leukaemia was estimated from the standardised incidence ratio (SIR) of the number of cases observed to the number expected. Exact 95% confidence intervals (CI) have been computed. Participants-All people under the age of 25 years living in the study region between 1978 and 1998. Main results-The observed number of cases of leukaemia in the study region as a whole was consistent with the expected value (SIR=1.03; 95%CI: 0.73, 1.41). No cases were observed on Alderney. The SIR in the Beaumont-Hague electoral ward was 2.17 (95%CI: 0.71, 5.07). The highest SIR was observed in the 5 to 9 years age group (SIR=6.38; 95%CI: 1.32, 18.65). This consists in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cases. Conclusion-This study indicates an increased incidence of leukaemia in the area situated at less than 10 km from the plant. Monitoring and further investigations should be targeted at acute lymphoblastic leukaemia occurring during the childhood incidence peak (before 10 years) in children living near the La Hague site and may be other nuclear reprocessing plants. (J Epidemiol Community Health 2001;55:469-474) The Nord Cotentin region of France has a particularly high density of nuclear installations. The La Hague nuclear waste reprocessing plant, a surface storage facility for nuclear waste, the Flamanville nuclear power station and the Cherbourg military arsenal are all within 20 km of each other.The clusters of leukaemia in children and young adults discovered near the nuclear reprocessing plants of Sellafield (England) 1 and Dounreay (Scotland) 2 have been largely investigated. Complete overviews, emphasing the crucial role of population movements, have been recently published.3 4 In France, several epidemiological studies were conducted to analyse the mortality rate attributable to leukaemia or the leukaemia incidence among children and young adults living in the vicinity of the La Hague reprocessing plant.5-7 The incidence of leukaemia between 1978 and 1992 in the Beaumont-Hague electoral ward (10 709 inhabitants in 1990), in which the plant is situated was found to be higher than expected (4 cases observed versus 1.4 expected; standardised incidence ratio (SIR) =2.8; 95% confidence intervals (95%CI): 0.8, 7.2).7 In this paper, the expected numbers of ca...

In order to investigate for an association between population mixing and the occurrence of leukaemia in young people (less than 25 years), a geographical study was conducted, for the years 1979 to 1998, in Nord Cotentin (France). This area experienced between the years 1978 and 1992 a major influx of workers for the construction of a nuclear power station and a new nuclear waste reprocessing unit. A population mixing index was defined on the basis of the number of workers born outside the French department of 'La Manche' and living in each 'commune', the basic geographical unit under study. The analyses were done with indirect standardisation and Poisson regression model allowing or not for extra-Poisson variation. Urban 'communes' were considered as the reference population. The Incidence Rate Ratio was 2.7 in rural 'communes' belonging to the highest tertile of population mixing (95% Bayesian credible interval, 95%BCI=1.2 -5.9). A positive trend was observed among rural strata with increasing population mixing index (IRR for trend=1.4, 95%BCI=1.1 -1.8). The risk became stronger for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in children 1 -6 years old in the highest tertile of population mixing (IRR=5.5, 95%BCI=1.4 -23.3). These findings provide further support for a possible infective basis of childhood leukaemia.

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) may be an alternative to mastectomy for localized breast cancer ineligible for breast conservation. The optimal schedule (sequential versus concomitant) remains controversial. Based on encouraging results of a phase 2 study (Luporsi E. et al, ASCO 2000) a concomitant docetaxel (D) and epirubicin (E) neoadjuvant combination is applied in neoadjuvant setting in our institution since 2001 for HER2−negative patients (pts). The results of this combination are presented, with a particular focus on pathological complete response (pCR) and conservation rate. Methods: Between 2001 and 2010, 223 pts received NAC for a T2-T3 breast cancer initially ineligible for conservative surgery, but with hope of breast conservation in case of downstaging by pre-operative medical treatment. Six cycles of D (75mg/m2) and E (75mg/m2) were administered every 3 weeks before surgery, with prophylactic support of G-CSF in order to reduce the risk of febrile neutropenia and to maintain the dose-intensity of the NAC. All patients eligible for breast conservation after NAC underwent lumpectomy, the others were treated by mastectomy. In all cases, an axillary dissection was performed. After lumpectomy all patients received radiation therapy, after mastectomy RT was limited to high risk of loco-regional relapse. Patients with positive hormonal receptors (HR+) received hormonal therapy. Results were analyzed in term of breast conservation rate (BCR), pathologic response rate (pCR defined as no residual invasive tumour in breast and axilla, according to Sataloff's classification) and safety. Results: Mean age of patients was 49,6 years (range: 26–71). Median clinical tumor size was 40mm (range 20–110). Histological subtypes were:78,0 % ductal, 15,3 lobular, 1,8 % ductal/lobular and 4,9 % other types. SBR grading was: grade I: 14,3 %, grade II: 46,2 %, grade III: 33,2 % and 6,3 % unspecified. 77,3 % were HR+, 19,7 % of tumours were triple negative (HER2 unknown for 38 cases). A breast conservation was achievable for 73,5% of patients, the pCR rate was 20,6%. At a median follow up of 48 months, 31 pts relapsed: 9 pts (4%) experienced a local relapse, 5 regional and 28 distant recurrences occured. Additional data about safety and survival will be provided for the meeting. Conclusions: For HER2−negative tumours, 6 cycles of a concomitant taxane-anthracyclin pre-operative combination allowed a 20,6% pCR rate, slightly lower than obtained with 8 cycles of a sequential regimen in several published trials. However breast conservation rate was similar with a low risk of local recurrence. According to these results, concomitant cytotoxic combination is an acceptable option for neoadjuvant treatment of breast cancer. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-14-20.