Childhood cancer is the eighth-leading cause of childhood death globally.

It causes more deaths than measles, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, with outcomes largely determined by resource availability, according to the latest findings from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 study published Wednesday in The Lancet.

The estimates show that while mortality has declined globally, children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face the most severe consequences from cancer, according to a release shared with the Ghana News Agency.

Researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine (IHME) and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, among others, found that in 2023 alone, there were 377,000 new cases of childhood cancer and 144,000 deaths worldwide.

Since 1990, new cases have been relatively stable globally, and deaths have decreased by 27 per cent.

However, the majority of childhood cancer burden in 2023 was in LMICs, with 85 per cent of new cases, 94 per cent of deaths, and 94 per cent of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). DALYs measure the total years of healthy life lost by examining the years lost from premature death and years lived with disability.

Lisa Force, MD, MPH, lead author from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine said, “While outcomes for many childhood cancers have improved in high-income countries, these gains have not been equitably shared.

“The vast majority of children with cancer live in low- and middle-income countries, where delays in diagnosis, lack of access to essential cancer treatment, and other health system limitations and barriers to care can contribute to disparities in childhood cancer burden.”

The study emphasizes that improving outcomes will require expanded investment in cancer control systems, particularly in LMICs, including referral systems that support timely diagnosis, workforce training, access to chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy, as well as stronger cancer registration and surveillance systems.

Most children with cancer live in low- and middle-income countries, where delays in diagnosis, lack of access to essential cancer treatment, and other health system limitations and barriers to care can contribute to disparities in childhood cancer burden.

WHO Western Pacific Region and WHO African Region had the greatest numbers of cases in 2023, while WHO African Region had the most deaths, which increased almost 56 per cent from 1990 to 2023.

During the same period, age-standardized mortality rates decreased globally and in all WHO world regions, with the most notable declines in high- and high-middle socio-demographic settings.

In 2023, WHO African and WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regions were estimated to have the highest age-standardized mortality rates for childhood cancer.

The cancer types with the greatest burden globally in 2023 were leukemias, brain/central nervous system cancers and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Nearly half of all childhood cancer deaths in 2023 were estimated to come from the six WHO GICC index cancers.

The WHO GICC index cancers represent an important mechanism to monitor progress of the initiative’s efforts to strengthen health systems and improve outcomes for all childhood cancers globally.

Nickhill Bhakta, MD, MPH, St. Jude Global, said, “St. Jude has made significant commitments, in partnership with World Health Organization (WHO), to improving global childhood cancer survival to at least 60% by 2030 through investments in the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC) and the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines.

“These publicly available data, generated together with IHME, provide an important tool to help us monitor progress and evaluate the impact of our global mission to reduce deaths due to catastrophic diseases of childhood worldwide.”

Dr Bhakta is also senior and co-corresponding author of the study, disease burden and simulation director and Department of Global Pediatric Medicine associate member.

The study was supported by grants from the Gates Foundation, St. Baldrick’s Foundation and the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC), the fundraising and awareness organization of St. Jude.