'It should encourage us': Childhood cancer report shows increased survival rate

A task force that includes Michelle Hudspeth, M.D., from the Medical University of South Carolina, found positive trends for childhood cancer statewide. That includes an 11% improvement in childhood cancer survival over a 25-year period. “It's very significant as a native South Carolinian to be able to see the progress that we've made,” she said.

Hudspeth, director of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at MUSC, is part of the South Carolina Childhood Cancer Task Force. The group just released the report “Childhood Cancer in South Carolina: 25-Year Trends in Incidence, Survival and Mortality.”

 

“We're trying to understand, from 1996 through 2020, what was the landscape of childhood cancer. What does this look like for our survival, for mortality? What is it like to be a cancer survivor? And what do we understand about the incidence of childhood cancer and what that looks like across different populations across the state?” Hudspeth said.

The report’s release comes during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and contains another encouraging statistic. “We have an 84% survival rate at five years from diagnosis. And I think that is tremendous,” Hudspeth said.

But she said it’s important to put the percentages in perspective. “There's a lot of focus on survival rates, but it's important not to rest too much there because there's 16% of children who didn't make it. Any report like this is talking about statistics and numbers, but for any one child in any one family, it's zero or 100% survival rate, right? And those are drastically different numbers. Those are real children and families, and we need to focus on how we can continue to do better.”

Success stories

Real people like Kaycen Martin, an 11-year-old from Orangeburg. Doctors diagnosed Kaycen with high-risk neuroblastoma when he was 8.Neuroblastoma is a cancer that grows in nerve tissue.

Kaycen’s mother, Katrina Martin, said he completed over two years of treatment, including chemotherapy, tumor removal surgery, immunotherapy, two stem cell transplants and radiation. 

 

Three years later, Katrina Martin said Kaycen is thriving. “He’s enjoying school as an all-A student, and he loves playing baseball."

She said faith in God helped them get through some difficult moments. “It was one of the scariest times of our lives, but we are forever thankful for today’s medicine and the MUSC Oncology family.”

Another MUSC Children’s Health cancer patient, Jesse Dasinger, was diagnosed at the age of 10 with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This highly aggressive form of cancer affects white blood cells, leading to problems in bone marrow, the spleen, lymph nodes and more.

Jesse is now an adult and a recent graduate of the College of Charleston. He had a message for other kids with cancer. “One day, you will look back on this and realize this has changed you for the better in some ways.”

Jesse became a nurse at MUSC Health to treat other patients the way he was during his care. He credits his medical journey with giving him a new perspective on life.

Report’s findings

Kaycen and Jesse came through their treatments successfully and have gone on to enjoy their lives. Hudspeth said that’s the goal for every child undergoing cancer care. But as the report found, some kids with cancer face other factors that may affect their health.

Racial, ethnic and geographic disparities 

For example, the report found that Black and Hispanic children have lower survival rates than white children. And childhood cancer is higher in urban areas than rural areas.

“I think it reminds us, when we look at some of the disparities, that we need to understand more about the realities for these patients, and that any treatment plan is only as good as the ability to deliver it. We need to make sure that we're doing everything possible to break down any barriers or access to care and make sure that we're reaching all the children possible in South Carolina,” Hudspeth said.

That includes barriers for patients’ families. “We know that a childhood cancer diagnosis is significant for a family, not just in terms of the risk to their child and the emotional piece of that, but it has an economic impact. It can be incredibly challenging for these families to be able to pay bills, to be able to have adequate access to some of the basic needs because of the stress and the additional cost and having to support a child through cancer treatment. We need to look critically at how we support children and their families.”

Cancer patterns are changing

The report found an increase in South Carolina in childhood lymphoma and leukemia and a decrease in brain and central nervous system tumors. It focused on data, not the reasons for the changes. But Hudspeth said knowing that the prevalence of certain types of cancer is shifting can guide the focus on additional research and treatment. 

Need for ongoing care

Unfortunately, surviving cancer isn’t always the end of the story. “We have a lot of emphasis on cure, but remember, we're treating young bodies. We need to continue to refine our treatments and find less toxic treatments. The majority of these patients will have some type of serious health condition by the time they're middle-aged, due to their cancer treatment,” Hudspeth said.

“The potential of death doesn't just happen in that first five years from cancer but actually remains beyond, related to treatment. And so that’s reflected in the data that we saw."

Value of report’s release

The report can help cancer specialists, researchers, elected officials and the public address those issues, Hudspeth said. “While we are pleased to see the tremendous progress for pediatric cancer patients in our state, it also compels us to engage in additional critical conversations, planning and advocacy to ensure an even better future for childhood cancer patients and their families.”

The inaugural childhood cancer report was produced by the South Carolina Department of Public Health in collaboration with the South Carolina Children’s Hospital Collaborative, the University of South Carolina and the South Carolina Cancer Alliance. The Department of Public Health plans to update the report every five years.

Hudspeth is glad for doctors, researchers and the public to see it. “It should encourage us that we can make progress – and it should drive us to want to do more,” she said.