A major new study published in The Lancet shows that survival for children with cancer has improved worldwide over the past 30 years, but significant inequalities persist.

Led by the Cancer Survival Group at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the study analysed data from more than 600,000 children across 68 countries between 1990 and 2019.

Researchers introduced a new measure, the Cancer Survival Index, to track overall survival and support global monitoring efforts, including the World Health Organization target of 60% survival by 2030.

Survival now exceeds 80% in many high-income countries, but remains around 50 to 60% in lower-middle-income settings.

The findings highlight clear progress, but also the urgent need for continued investment in care, data systems and global collaboration to close the survival gap.

SIOP welcomes this important research and its role in driving action to improve outcomes for all children with cancer. Please enjoy this free to access article: