Children’s death rates from cancer have fallen by a third in 20 years, figures show
The annual toll of victims under 15 is now 240, down from 340 two decades ago due to 'more research and better treatments'
DEATH rates of children with cancer have fallen by a third in the UK in the past 20 years, figures show.
Each year, 240 British children under the age of 15 are killed by cancer, compared with 340 two decades ago.
Mortality incidence has fallen by 32 per cent, from around 31 deaths per million children to 21.
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Cancer Research UK, which released the figures, said the improvement was due to more research and better treatments.
Professor Pam Kearns, from the charity, said: “Although we're losing fewer young lives to cancer, a lot more needs to be done to find better treatments.
"As more children survive cancer, it's especially important that we concentrate on improving the quality of life after treatment.
"Many children who survive cancer will live with long-term side-effects of their treatment which may have an impact on them as adults, so it's vital that we find treatments that are better at treating the cancer but also have fewer side-effects."
The charity’s chief clinician Prof Peter Johnson said: “We’ve made great progress in helping more children survive cancer year on year, but this work is not finished.”