Incidence, mortality and survival of childhood cancer in China during 2000-2010 period: A population-based study

Abstract

The objective of this study is to assess Chinese nationwide incidence, mortality and survival of childhood cancers, which has not been reported. Data from 145 Chinese Cancer Registries, which covered 158,403,248 populations, were pooled for analyses. Cancer patients were diagnosed during 2000-2010 at age 0-14 years. Age-standardized incidence and mortality rates and relative survival rates were calculated. Survival was estimated by the classic cohort approach. New cancer cases were projected using a Bayesian age-period-cohort model. Overall age-standardized incidence was 87.1 per million and age-standardized mortality was 36.3 per million. We found a statistically significant increase in incidence rate annually with 2.8% (95% CI: 1.1-4.6%, p < 0.05), a non-significant decreased mortality, and overall 5-year relative survival reaching 71.9% (95% CI: 69.4-77.1%). Projected new cases in 2015 are 22,875. We provide, for the first time, Chinese nationwide incidence, mortality and their temporal trends, and relative survival rates during the period of 2003-2005 for childhood cancer, which will contribute to a better understanding of the etiology and prevention of childhood cancers. The increasing trend of incidence rate and low 5-year relative survival rate suggest that more efforts for prevention and control of childhood cancers shall be invested in China.

Keywords: Cancer registry; Childhood cancer; China.