As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Hoogendijk et al, the EUROCARE-6 population-based study has provided long-term survival rates and cure fraction estimates for pediatric patients with central nervous system (CNS) tumors across 31 European countries.
Study Details
The study involved data from the EUROCARE-6 database from children aged younger than 15 years with a CNS tumor. Observed survival estimates were derived from the period of 2008 to 2013, with 5-year observed survival being estimated for patients in four major CNS tumor groups. Cure fraction estimates were made using data for the period of 1998 to 2013. Estimates were also provided for 10-year and 15-year survival.
Key Findings
A total of 13,782 tumor cases were included in the observed survival analyses. Observed survival at 5 years was 92% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 91%–93%) for low-grade gliomas, 72% (95% CI = 68%–75%) for ependymomas, 64% (95% CI = 62%–67%) for medulloblastomas, 47% (95% CI = 45%–49%) for high-grade gliomas, and 24% (95% CI = 21%–27%) for high-grade gliomas excluding glioma–not otherwise specified.
A total of 30,392 patients were included in the cure fraction analysis. The largest absolute increase in cure fraction was observed for ependymomas, from 65% in 1998–2001 to 79% in 2010–2013. Over the study period, cure fractions also increased for low-grade gliomas (from 89% to 95%), high-grade gliomas (from 44% to 50%), and medulloblastomas (from 52% to 56%). No increase was observed for high-grade gliomas excluding glioma–not otherwise specified (from 27% to 24%)
Estimated 10- and 15-year survival rates among all patients were 70.0% and 67.4%, respectively. Rates were highest for low-grade gliomas (90.6% and 88.5%), followed by ependymomas (67.4% and 62.0%), medulloblastomas (57.4% and 56.0%), high-grade gliomas (44.8% and 42.6%), and high-grade gliomas excluding glioma–not otherwise specified (20.5% and 19.0%).
The investigators concluded: “This study is the first to report a comprehensive evaluation of survival parameters for paediatric CNS tumor patients in Europe. These outcomes are important to evaluate advances in care for children with a CNS tumor.”
Henrike E. Karim-Kos, PhD, of Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, Netherlands, is the corresponding author for The Lancet Oncology article.
Disclosure: The study was funded by the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology and Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro. For full disclosures of all study authors, visit thelancet.com.
