The Lancet Oncology – International variations in childhood cancer in indigenous populations: a systematic review

A paper, led by scientists of the Menzies School of Health Research (Australia) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and published in Lancet Oncology, reports for the first time the burden of cancer in indigenous children worldwide. Forty-four studies among indigenous children from three main regions were included: Native Americans (American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Hawaiians) in the USA, indigenous children from the Asia–Pacific region (Indigenous Australians, Maori, and Pacific Islanders in New Zealand and French Polynesia), and indigenous children from selected African countries. Little information was available on cancer profiles of indigenous children in some regions with large indigenous populations, such as South America and the circumpolar region (e.g. in the Saami and Nenets populations).

Compared with non-indigenous children, indigenous children had similar or lower incidences of all cancers combined, but patterns of incidence varied by country. The distribution of cancer types in indigenous children more closely reflected that of non-indigenous children within their own country, rather than of other indigenous groups. Cancer mortality rates were available only for Australia, the USA, and New Zealand, and were similar in indigenous and non-indigenous children in the USA and Australia. Cancer survival was overall lower for indigenous children.
These findings highlight the paucity of accessible information and the pressing need for cancer data by indigenous status in population-based cancer registries. The authors advocate the better measurement of cancer burden among indigenous children so that targeted programmes for cancer control can be planned and implemented.

Valery PC, Moore S, Meiklejohn J, Bray F.
International variations in childhood cancer in indigenous populations: a systematic review.
The Lancet Oncology, Volume 15, Issue 2, Pages e90 - e103, February 2014, doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(13)70553-9Read article