Childhood cancer in Victoria, Australia, 1970-1989

The incidence of cancer between 1970 and 1989 in children aged less than 15 years and resident in the state of Victoria, Australia, was ascertained using records held by the Victorian Cancer Registry. Altogether, 1,189 children in the 1970s and 1,261 children in the 1980s were registered with new diagnoses of cancer and these were followed up until 30 June 1993. Between 1970-1979 and 1980-1989 the incidence of childhood cancer rose by 14%, but this was not statistically significant. Part of this apparent increase may have been due to improved registration of cases in the 1980s, particularly of certain tumour types, and of tumours in older children who may have been treated outside the major paediatric treatment centres. Between the 2 decades, 5-year survival increased from 49% to 67%, with improvements in almost all tumour types. Only in Ewing's sarcoma did survival proportions decrease, and this may be related to histological misclassification and to an increased proportion of Ewing's arising in the pelvis during the 1980s. There is evidence already that with new treatment regimens introduced during the 1980s survival in the 1990s will show increased gains.