Abstract
With decades of progress in the successful treatment of many childhood cancers, overall survival now approaches 80%. However, there are persistent disparities in outcomes for several groups of children and adolescents, as well as a lack of research on the factors that contribute to these differences. This paucity of research greatly limits our efforts to address these important differences. We recently held a dedicated one-day symposium to increase awareness of the disparities that exist for childhood cancers, to stimulate the development of new research, and to begin to establish a research strategy for addressing key disparities. We discussed the genetic, environmental, social, and medical system factors associated with disparities in risk and outcomes, specifically for patients with leukemias and sarcomas. We also discussed factors specific to Hispanic and African-American children, to non-English-speaking families, and to children who live in rural or impoverished areas. Moving into the future, a plan was discussed for increasing research on disparities among children and adolescents across the cancer continuum.
Citation Format: Michael E. Scheurer. Childhood cancer disparities: Past, present, and future [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr IA10.