Britain's survival rates for the most common forms of childhood cancer now match those of the US. ...
Britain's survival rates for the most common forms of childhood cancer now match those of the US.
Experts from Cancer Research UK say there are at least 25,000 people alive in Britain who have been successfully treated for the disease. They believe the success can be attributed to nationwide collaborations started by the country's network of specialists ' the UK Children's Cancer Study Group (UKCCSG).
The figures highlight Britain's success in targeting the most common children's cancers.
Survival for acute lymphoid leukaemia, for example, is now 81%, just behind the US figure of 85%. However, while survival for these cancers is similar to that in the US, Britain still drags behind in treatments for some of the more rare forms of the disease.
This is shown in a survival rate for childhood cancers in general of 77%, compared with Britain's rate of 72%. Previously it has been difficult for British doctors to carry out patient trials for rarer types of childhood cancer, as there are not enough cases in the country for statistically valid studies. However, greater collab- oration with treatment centres across Europe will allow researchers to get around this problem. Cancer Research UK is now funding the UKCCSG to collaborate across Europe on trials for various rare cancer forms.
Dr Sue Ablett, executive director of the UKCCSG, said: 'It is only by carrying out large-scale studies that we can find out which treatments are best, and to do this we have had to work with our colleagues across the UK and the rest of Europe.'
