Senior and co-corresponding author of the study, Nickhill Bhakta, MD, MPH, St. Jude Global disease burden and simulation director and Department of Global Pediatric Medicine associate member
Childhood cancer is the eighth-leading cause of childhood death globally and 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 today 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.
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%. However, the majority of childhood cancer burden in 2023 was in LMICs, with 85% of new cases, 94% of deaths and 94% 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.
“While outcomes for many childhood cancers have improved in high-income countries, these gains have not been equitably shared,” said Lisa Force, MD, MPH, lead author from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine. “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.
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% 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.
“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,” said senior and co-corresponding author of the study, Nickhill Bhakta, MD, MPH, St. Jude Global disease burden and simulation director and Department of Global Pediatric Medicine associate member.
Authors and funding
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.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, is a global leader in the research and treatment of childhood cancer, sickle cell disease and other life-threatening pediatric diseases. St. Jude is the only National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments developed at St. Jude have helped push the U.S. childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since the hospital opened in 1962. St. Jude is extending its mission to help more children around the world. In 2018, St. Jude and World Health Organization launched the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer to increase survival rates from 20% to 60% by 2030 for six of the most common forms of childhood cancer. The St. Jude Global Alliance is a global network with a shared vision of improving care and increasing survival rates of children with cancer and blood disorders worldwide. To learn more, visit stjude.org, read St. Jude Progress, a digital magazine, and follow St. Jude on social media at @stjuderesearch.