Measuring Gains in Pediatric Cancer

Inaugural report examines progress and challenges for children and adolescents with cancer.

To highlight the impact of advances and put a spotlight on the gaps that still exist in treating pediatric cancer, the American Association for Cancer Research® (AACR) published its inaugural AACR Pediatric Cancer Progress Report, which was unveiled at a congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. on December 4, 2025.

“The report elucidates how innovative research, often funded by the National Institutes of Health, has improved outcomes for many of our youngest cancer patients,” explained Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, FAACR, cochair of the report’s steering committee, an AACR Past President, and co-executive director of the Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “We also document that in several lethal cancer types, there remains a significant need for new insights, novel therapies, and international clinical trials to achieve similar progress.”

For all pediatric cancers combined, the five-year survival rate in the United States increased from 63% in the mid-1970s to 87% in 2015-2021. However, while Hodgkin lymphoma, thyroid carcinoma, and retinoblastoma have five-year survival rates exceeding 90%, the rates are below 25% for other cancers, like certain gliomas and sarcomas.

“The first AACR Pediatric Cancer Progress Report is a celebration of the incredible progress in treating children and adolescents with cancer coupled with a call to action toward a brighter tomorrow,” said Kimberly Stegmaier, MD, cochair of the report’s steering committee and chair of the Department of Pediatric Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. “As a pediatric oncologist and physician scientist, I have witnessed firsthand this transformation in care for some pediatric patients with cancer but also the heartbreak when our treatments fail. Research brings a new future for these vulnerable children, adolescents, and their families.” 