Funding for childhood cancer research is too low and too dependent on short-term grants to maintain the improvements in survival rates seen in recent decades. This is the stark warning issued by EU-funded researchers who also highlight the steps needed to improve the way clinical trials for childhood cancer drugs are organised in Europe.

These conclusions are part of the work undergone under the EU funded EUROCANCERCOMS ('Establishing an efficient network for cancer communication in Europe') project, which was allocated 1.25 million euro under the 'Science in society' budget line of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Results of the study have been published in the journal Ecancer, and the findings were also presented at an event at the European Parliament in Brussels on 9 February to mark International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day.

Today, 80% of childhood cancer patients can expect to survive the disease thanks to massive improvements in diagnosis and treatment over the last 4 decades. However, childhood cancer research is not getting the attention it deserves; the researchers say paediatric oncology papers received are cited less often than other papers in the journals in which they are published.

Scientific collaboration in childhood cancer is the key

The team also looked into collaboration between countries and regions. As expected, there is close collaboration between researchers in Canada and the US, and researchers in the EU are increasingly working together. However, there is relatively little collaboration between North America and Europe, and this should be addressed, the researchers say. They also call for greater research cooperation between developed and transitional countries. Within Europe, countries in eastern Europe, where the incidence of cancer is high, rarely collaborate with colleagues in countries with a stronger research infrastructure, and this affects the care they can give to young patients.

Elsewhere in Europe, Italian doctors expressed their concern over the fragmentation of childhood cancer care, while Swedish participants lamented the lack of experienced staff and difficulties finding funding for their countries paediatric oncology units. In the UK, worries focused on the impact on children's cancer care of cuts in the health service budget, among other things.

In their recommendations, the researchers call for sufficient EU funding to support a Europe-wide clinical trials network, and a reduction in the bureaucracy that slows the initiation and establishment of clinical trials. The team also highlights the importance of monitoring treatment outcomes and calls for the creation of a European Childhood Cancer Epidemiological Registry.