Survival estimates of childhood malignancies treated at the Mexican telethon pediatric oncology hospital

Abstract

Abstract Background Pediatric cancer incidence in Mexico is ~160/million/year with leukemias making 49.8% of the cases. While survival rates have been reported in various Mexican studies, no data is available from the Telethon Pediatric Oncology Hospital‐HITO, a nonprofit private institution specialized exclusively in comprehensive pediatric oncology care in the country that closely follows high‐income countries' advanced standards of cancer care. Aim To determine overall survival (OS) and relapse‐free survival (RFS) in patients treated at HITO between December 2013 and February 2018. Methods and results Secondary analysis of data extracted from medical records. It included 286 children aged 0–17 years diagnosed with various cancers grouped into three categories based on location: (1) Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), (2) tumors within the central nervous system (TWCNS), and (3) tumors outside the CNS (TOCNS). OS and RFS rates for patients who completed 1 (n = 230) and 3 (n = 132) years of follow‐up after admission were computed by sex, age, and cancer location, and separately for a subsample (1‐year = 191, 3‐years = 110) who fulfilled the HITO criteria (no prior treatment, underwent surgery/chemotherapy when indicated, and initiated therapy). TOCNS accounted for 45.1%, but ALL was the most frequent single diagnosis with 28%. Three‐year OS for patients with ALL, TWCNS, and TOCNS who fulfilled the HITO criteria were 91.9%, 86.7%, and 79.3%, respectively; for 3‐year RFS these were 89.2%, 60%, and 72.4%. Boys showed slightly higher OS and RFS, but no major differences or trends were seen by age group. Conclusion This study sets a relevant reference in terms of survival and relapse for children with cancer in Mexico treated at a private oncology center that uses a comprehensive and integrated therapeutic model.

Keywords

• epidemiology
• hematology
• oncology
• pediatric cancer
• relapse
• survival