Treatment improvements in children’s cancer services leads to higher survival rates

Improvements in diagnostics, treatment and care in cancer services, particularly children’s cancer services have led to greater survival rates, according to statistics published by the National Cancer Registry on Wednesday.

Prof Deirdre Murray, director of the registry, told RTÉ Radio 1′s Morning Ireland that the country was seeing the benefit of the rationalisation and centralisation of children’s cancer services.

The report, which is the first of its kind to include cancers in those up to 24 years of age, highlights significant reductions in mortality reflecting advances in early detection, treatment, and care.

An average of 369 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in 0-24-year-olds per year between 2011 and 2020 (191 at ages 0-15, 178 at ages 16-24).

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While incidence rates are low, they have increased by 1.3 per cent per year in 0-15 year olds, and 1.1 per cent per year in 16–24 year olds, since 1996. However, there has been a notable fall in the rate of melanoma observed in 16-24 year old women.

Five-year survival has increased from 82 to 87 per cent (2011-2019) in 0-15 year olds and from 87 per cent to 90 per cent in 16-24 year olds, and ongoing increases in survival are reflected in long-term reductions in mortality.

“Over the last number of decades, there have been substantial increases and improvements in diagnostics, treatment and care. So that’s what we’re seeing now in Ireland,” Prof Murray said.

“I suppose equally what we’re seeing is the benefits of rationalisation and centralisation of particularly children’s cancer services a number of years ago. So those benefits are coming through in the figures that were published today.”

Prof Murray said the reduction in melanoma coincided with the publication of the Public Health Sunbed Act which had copper fastened the decrease as people were being more informed about the impact of the sun and changed their behaviour.

“You can see that on the beaches in Ireland, children are far better covered up and there’s a lot more sunscreen going on,” she said.

“The message has got home that has been driven on by various health promotion campaigns over the years. And it’s great to see that it’s impacting in the melanoma in that age group.”

The most commonly diagnosed cancers in 0-15 year olds were brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumours, leukaemias, and lymphomas, while epithelial tumours and melanomas, lymphomas, and brain and CNS tumours were the most commonly diagnosed cancers in 16-24 year olds.