The problem of treatment abandonment in children from developing countries with cancer.

BACKGROUND

There is an inequality gap between the outcome of childhood cancer in resource, rich and limited countries. Abandonment of treatment is one of the reasons for this.

PROCEDURE

We searched the medical literature for evidence on abandonment, its causes, and any preventative interventions.

RESULTS

Abandonment is a very real problem all across the developing world. Cancers associated with poorer prognosis seem to have higher abandonment rates. It is also related to the socio-economic and educational status of parents, travel time to treatment centers, and affordable, locally available treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Twinning between institutions, which includes several preventative interventions, has clearly been shown to work.