Childhood cancer deaths in the United States have declined six-fold over the last seventy years

Childhood cancer deaths in the United States have fallen dramatically over time, as shown in the chart. It presents annual cancer death rates in children under five years old.

There has been a six-fold decline since the 1950s.

This progress reflects decades of collaboration between scientists, clinicians, and public health workers.

One major success story has been in treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a common form of leukemia in children: researchers identified genetic mutations that caused the disease, making it possible to develop targeted chemotherapy drugs that have greatly improved survival. Surgeries, bone marrow transplants, and other treatments have also played a role.

We’ve also seen big improvements for other blood cancers, such as lymphomas and multiple myeloma, though progress has been slower for cancers of the brain and nervous system.

Explore more data on our page on cancer →

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This page was imported from Our World in Data. “Childhood cancer deaths in the United States have declined six-fold over the last seventy years” by Saloni Dattani, published by Our World in Data under CC BY 4.0. Changed here: set as a page, its interactive charts shown as pictures. Data from third parties keeps its own licence.

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