S.C. releases report on 25-year data on childhood cancer

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina Childhood Cancer Taskforce released its first-ever report detailing data on cancer in children and progress made to fight it.

The report marks the first undertaking for a comprehensive look at the disease in the state.

Dr. Edward Simmer, the interim director of the Department of Public Health, said there are more than 200 cases of childhood cancer in the state each year and that about 26 children will die from it every year.

“But the positive side of that is that tells you there’s also a lot of survivors, a lot of children who, because of the work of places like Prisma and MUSC and McLeod, survive and do well,” he said.

The South Carolina Childhood Cancer Taskforce released its first-ever report detailing data on cancer in children and progress made to fight it.

Four key findings

Prisma Health pediatric oncologist Dr. Anna Hoppmann is an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia and served as chair of the Childhood Cancer Taskforce. She highlighted four areas in the report: progress in the fight against childhood cancer, disparities in childhood cancer, the changing incidence in cases and survivorship.

She said the data revealed an 84% rate in five years and said the report contains a lot of good news she hopes will bring families a sense of hope.

“That is really remarkable, and that reflects an 11% improvement in survival over the study period,” Hoppmann said. “We saw improved survival for males and females, for children from rural and urban areas, and for eight of 11 major cancer types.”

She said there are disparities, however, in childhood cancer survival rates.

“Though, the gaps are narrowing, and we have made progress in this area over time, black and Hispanic children with cancer still have lower survival estimates than white children with cancer,” she said.

The disparities extended into survivorship with a relatively higher proportion of deaths among black childhood cancer survivors, she said.

The report revealed a rise in childhood cancer regionally and nationally and Hoppmann said South Carolina numbers mirror those increases, though rates in this state are below the regional and national rates. The pattern, she said, varied by the type of cancer.

“For example, we found increasing trends for lymphoma and leukemia and a down trending rate of brain and central nervous system tumors, because childhood cancer remains rare, and these changes are also seen nationally,” she said.

The report found that the state continues to see more childhood cancer survivors over time as oncology advances. But she said that when a child has been treated for cancer, “their road doesn’t end” when the treatment does.

“When the treatment ends, they’re at risk for late health effects over the lifespan because of the treatments they needed in childhood,” she said.

“I’m incredibly proud to see the progress that is highlighted in this report,” Dr. Michelle Hudspeth said.

Hudspeth is the director of pediatric hematology/oncology and blood and marrow transplantation and cellular therapy at the Medical University of South Carolina. She said the report represents an “invaluable tool for physicians, researchers, media and anyone seeking to understand the impacts of childhood cancer in South Carolina.”

“This report spans 25 years, and if we look over sort of the last 20 years, gold became the signature color to represent childhood cancer. And that’s because gold is precious, and there’s really nothing more precious than our children,” Hudspeth said.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

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