Alejandra Mendez, Vice President of Childhood Cancer International, recognized among 100 Influential Women in Oncology in 2025 by OncoDaily, shared a post by Liliana Vasquez, Childhood Cancer Technical Officer at Pan American Health Organization, shared a post on LinkedIn, adding:
“Thank you, Liliana Vasquez, for sharing these encouraging data on childhood cancer survival rates.
It is really encouraging to see how survival in Latin America has increased steadily over time. This progress reflects the power of regional collaboration and the commitment of so many people who work tirelessly for children with cancer.
I would also like to stress the importance of joint work between health systems and civil society organizations. It is through this collaboration that we are able to reach more children, reduce gaps, and improve outcomes.
Let’s continue to work together, articulate efforts, complement our strengths, and build on what we have already achieved.
Together, we can save more lives!”
Quoting Liliana Vasquez‘s post:
“This week, several articles on survival in children with cancer were published in the Lancet globally.
What do they say about Latin America?
– Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have already reached or exceeded 60% survival at 5 years, the goal set by the IPCC.
– Two decades ago (2000-2004), several countries in the region were below 60%. Today, a growing number of countries have already crossed that threshold, evidencing sustained progress.
Despite progress, some countries are still around 55–60%, which shows inequalities within the region. Moreover, many countries still do not report survival data due to the lack of a pediatric cancer registry.
– Progress is linked to concrete actions such as: earlier diagnosis, better access to treatment, strengthening of health systems, regional cooperation, among others.
Much still needs to be done, so as not to leave anyone behind.”
Title: Progress towards the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer target of 60% 5-year survival for all childhood cancers combined, 1990–2019 (CONCORD-4): a Cancer Survival Index derived for 68 countries by analysis of individual records for 613 021 children from 307 population-based cancer registries
Authors: Claudia Allemani, Veronica Di Carlo, Naomi Ssenyonga, Fatima Khan Baloch, Claudia Kuehni, Fabio Girardi, Carolina Goić, Marisa K Sophiea, Mario Šekerija, Carla Espinoza-Vallejos, Katerina Dadouli, Hiromi Sugiyama, Jaume Galceran, Adela Cañete-Nieto, Rosalia Ragusa, Florencia Moreno, Charles Stiller, Michel P Coleman
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