PARIS - Some 45 per cent of children with cancer are left undiagnosed and untreated, according to an innovative study of the disease's global footprint among under-15s, published Wednesday . Worldwide, there are some 400,000 news cases of childhood cancer each year, but barely half are logged in national health registries, researchers reported in The Lancet Oncology, a medical journal.
"While under-diagnosis has been acknowledged as a problem, this model provides specific estimates that have been lacking." As with many diseases, the disparity between rich and developing nations is stark. The survey of data from 200 countries shows that more than half of childhood cancer cases in Africa, south-central Asia and the Pacific Islands slip through the healthcare net. By contrast, only three per cent of cases are undiagnosed in the United States, Europe and Canada.