Childhood cancer incidence and survival in Japan and England: A population‐based study (1993‐2010)

Abstract

The present study aimed to compare cancer incidence and trends in survival for children diagnosed in Japan and England, using population‐based cancer registry data. The analysis was based on 5192 children with cancer (age 0‐14 years) from 6 prefectural cancer registries in Japan and 21 295 children diagnosed in England during 1993‐2010. Differences in incidence rates between the 2 countries were measured with Poisson regression models. Overall survival was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Incidence rates for Hodgkin lymphoma, renal tumors and Ewing sarcomas in England were more than twice as high as those in Japan. Incidence of germ cell tumors, hepatic tumors, neuroblastoma and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was higher in Japan than in England. Incidence of all cancers combined decreased in Japan throughout the period 1993 to 2010, which was mainly explained by a decrease in registration of neuroblastoma in infants. For many cancers, 5‐year survival improved in both countries. The improvement in survival in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was particularly dramatic in both countries. However, 5‐year survival remained less than 80% in 2005‐2008 in both countries for AML, brain tumors, soft tissue sarcomas, malignant bone tumors and neuroblastoma (age 1‐14 years). There were significant differences in incidence of several cancers between countries, suggesting variation in genetic susceptibility and possibly environmental factors. The decrease in incidence for all cancers combined in Japan was related to the cessation of the national screening program for neuroblastoma. The large improvement in survival in CML coincided with the introduction of effective therapy (imatinib).

Changing geographical patterns and trends in cancer incidence in children and adolescents in Europe, 1991–2010 (Automated Childhood Cancer Information System): a population-based study

“…The variability we found warrants continued monitoring of incidence patterns in large populations over long periods, as trends that are not significant over short intervals might result in significant increases over a longer timeframe, and grouping smaller populations with no trend could yield a significant change in a pooled dataset. These considerations might also explain the discrepancy in the measured rate of change between our study and smaller European datasets 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10…”

“…During the past three decades, incidence increased by about 1% per annum for all cancers combined and this increase affected most major diagnostic groups, including leukaemias, lymphomas, and CNS tumours 2 . However, in the past decade, incidence appears to have stabilised overall and for the major diagnostic groups in European populations 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10…”

Incidence, clinical distribution, and patient characteristics of childhood cancer in Saudi Arabia: A population‐based analysis

“…Unfortunately, survival results for childhood cancers as a whole are not available from other Middle Eastern countries for comparison. Five‐year survivals for many of the diagnostic groups were similar to or greater than those seen in most UMICs and some HICs . Some variations are worth commenting on.…”

“…In addition, these Western populations represent a skewed racial composition, primarily comprised of a majority of white Caucasians. Over the past decade, some data from countries with a varying racial and ethnic admixture have been forthcoming, and we are beginning to see differences in the patterns of tumor histology between populations . This underscores the importance of studying local and regional childhood cancer incidence and survival data, and not solely extrapolating from external or distant sources.…”

Survival from childhood cancers in Eastern Africa: A population‐based registry study

“…In the USA, 5‐year survival from ALL in cases diagnosed in 1999–2002 was 88.5%, and over 90% for Wilms tumour . Outcomes of childhood cancer in Japan are similarly optimistic, with 100% 5‐year survival for retinoblastomas diagnosed in 2005–2008 …”