Global, regional, and national burden for childhood and adolescent cancers from 1990 to 2021: from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.

PURPOSE: Cancer is a major contributor to the global burden of disease, with children and adolescents being a population group that cannot be ignored. Our aim was to study the burden of cancer in children and adolescents (CAC) in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2021.

METHODS

Global age-standardized incidence rates (GASRs) and incidence trends for CAC for children aged 0-19 years were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database, stratified by 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2021. In this submission, we present CAC prevalence, incidence, mortality, and DALYs globally, with separate analysis by SDI for difference in CAC by development levels. ASIR, ASPR, and EAPCS over time were used in the statistical analysis used in the study. Standardized crude rates were obtained by age group, sex, and ward, with t tests and analyses of variance used to compare differences in cancer incidence across regions. Prospective sources of risk were identified with emphasis on occupational carcinogens and indoor radon.

RESULTS

In the period between 1990 and 2021, global cases, deaths, and DALYs due to CAC totaled a decrease, while prevalence totaled an increase. However, both ASIR and ASPR tended to rise as SDI values were higher both in low-to-middle SDI areas. The evaluation also found that deaths from occupational carcinogens rose across the world, and deaths due to indoor radon, fell.

CONCLUSION

CAC is still a public health problem worldwide. Although age-standardized mortality and DALY decreased, they are still not equal and low-SDI countries had a higher burden. The bottleneck is that more substantial targeted interventions in low resource settings should be performed continually for reduction of the burden globally.