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Childhood leukaemia: long-term excess mortality and the proportion 'cured'

Abstract:
Survival from childhood leukaemia has increased, but the proportion of children cured is unknown. The proportion 'cured' is defined as the proportion of survivors for whom, as a group, there is no longer excess mortality compared to the general population. Average time to cure is defined as the time since diagnosis at which the excess mortality rate has declined to or below a predetermined small value. Data on children diagnosed with leukaemia during 1971-2000 in Great Britain were used to estimate trends in survival, the proportion cured and the average time to cure. Five-year survival for all types of leukaemia combined rose from 33 to 79% by 2000, time to cure increased from 12 years (95% confidence interval (CI): 11-14) to 19 years (9% CI: 14-26) for lymphoid leukaemia (average annual increase of 0.3 years; P<0.001), but remained at about 5 years for acute nonlymphoblastic leukaemia. The proportion of children cured of leukaemia has risen dramatically, but the period of excess mortality associated with lymphoid leukaemia has also increased, possibly because of late relapse, secondary malignancy and toxicity from treatment.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1038/sj.bjc.6604466

Authors


More by this author
Institution:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Department:
Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology Unit,Department of Epidemiology and Population Health
Role:
Author
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
Paediatrics
Sub department:
Childhood Cancer Res Group
Role:
Author
More by this author
Institution:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Department:
Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology Unit,Department of Epidemiology and Population Health
Role:
Author
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
Paediatrics
Sub department:
Childhood Cancer Res Group
Role:
Author
More by this author
Institution:
Teenage Cancer Trust Young Oncology Unit, Christie Hospital NHS Trust, Manchester, UK
Department:
Academic Unit of Paediatric and Adolescent Oncology
Role:
Author

Contributors


Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Journal:
British Journal of Cancer More from this journal
Volume:
99
Issue:
1
Pages:
219-223
Publication date:
2008-07-01
Edition:
Publisher's version
DOI:
EISSN:
1532-1827
ISSN:
0007-0920


Language:
English
Keywords:
Subjects:
UUID:
uuid:760d38a8-a6a7-44b2-9313-460c924e82b6
Local pid:
ora:4861
Deposit date:
2011-01-27

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