Children’s cancer death rates see major decline in last decade

The rate of children dying from cancer has declined significantly in the last ten years, according to new figures from Cancer Research UK.

Released to coincide with the start of Children's Cancer Awareness Month, the data shows that around 330 children in the UK died from cancer each year a decade ago, but this has dropped 22 percent to around 260 deaths annually.

The steepest decline was in leukaemia – the most commonly diagnosed children's cancer – with death rates falling by almost half, from around 100 deaths each year to approximately 55.

Improvements such as these have been attributed to a number of positive evolutions in cancer care standards, including the development of various new chemotherapy drugs and strategies.

Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, said: "We've made great progress in helping more and more children survive cancer than ever before, but this work is not finished – better, kinder treatments must continue to be our target."

This comes after the charity released figures last month showing that death rates for the UK's top four cancer killers have fallen by almost one-third in the last two decades.