The incidence

• Every year in Australia more than 600 children are diagnosed with cancer
• On average, three Australian children die from cancer every week
• Cancer is the largest killer of children from disease in Australia
• Childhood cancer represents a significant number of life years lost, second only to breast cancer

Survival rates

• Prior to the 1960s, childhood cancer was almost always fatal
• Today, in Australia, survival rates are about 75 per cent across all types of childhood cancer
• Some childhood cancers, such as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, now have a survival rate of better than 80 per cent
• Other cancers such as acute myeloid leukaemia have a much lower survival rate
• In developing countries, survival rates are significantly lower
• As survival rates have increased, there has also been an increase in the number of adult survivors of childhood cancer. In Australia, one in 900 young adults aged between 16 and 45 years is a survivor of childhood cancer
• Many survivors experience long-term effects of disease and cancer-related therapies – including organ toxicity, growth and hormonal deficiencies, infertility and secondary cancers
• Childhood cancer survivors have a greater than 10 times higher rate of death than the general population
• Survivors of childhood cancer are at a substantial risk of developing at least one medical disability during their lifetime as a direct result of their therapy

The disease

• The types of cancer that occur in children are generally different to the types of cancer that commonly occur in adults. The genesis of the cancers are believed to be different, as well as how they respond to treatment
• We still do not fully understand what causes childhood cancer
• Childhood cancer can develop as early as when the child is in the womb, right up through the teenage years
• The most common childhood cancers are acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, brain cancer and neuroblastoma
• Childhood cancer does not discriminate; it can affect any child from any socioeconomic or cultural background

The solution

• Advances in knowledge and treatment found through medical research have delivered the improved survival rates we see today
• Only medical research will give hope to the three out of 10 Australian children diagnosed with cancer, and the tens of thousands diagnosed with cancer around the world, who are destined to die from their disease
• Research is a good investment. The 2008 Access Economics study, Exceptional Returns II, showed that on average each dollar invested in Australian health research returns $2.17 in health benefits