Overview

• Childhood cancer death rates have dropped 24% between 2001 and 2021, but progress has stalled for Black and Hispanic children in the past decade.
• In 2021, the death rate for white youth was 19% to 20% lower than for Black and Hispanic youth.
• Despite advances in treatment, brain cancer was the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among children in 2021.
• Experts suggest that disparities in death rates may be due to a lack of equal access to the newest, cutting-edge cancer treatments or treatment centers.
• The complexity of new cancer treatments such as gene therapy can burden families and be an impediment to getting care.