Cancer remains the first cause of death by disease in Europe in children older than 1 year – more than 35,000 cases are diagnosed and over 6,000 young patients die annually
• While improvements in cure rates have been achieved for some childhood cancers with the stringent and concerted use of old older chemotherapeutics (about 80% off-label) over decades alongside local control modalities (surgery, radiotherapy) little progress has been made in the cure rate of several other paediatric malignancies and there is a lack of innovation for better cure overall
• Age-related specificities call for tailored approaches to paediatric cancer over and above the cross-cutting issues shared with the adult cancer sector.
• There are nearly half a million childhood cancer survivors in Europe, with the majority experiencing adverse long-term effects with increasing incidence over a lifetime, hindering their daily life and participation in activities in relation to that of their peers, that are largely related to treatment approaches used in the last decades.
• There are substantial inequalities in access to the best available care and expertise across Europe causing up to 20% differences in survival rates among European countries.
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