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

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.