La Vecchia C, Decarli A
Tumori. 1985 Apr 30;71(2):111-7. doi: 10.1177/030089168507100204.
Trends in childhood cancer death rates in Italy from 1955 to 1978 were analyzed. All cancer age-standardized mortality below age 15 fell about 20%, with a clear downward trend since the early 1970's. Declines were evident for leukemias (-25%), Hodgkin's disease (-56%), non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (-27%), kidney cancer (-25%), retinoblastoma (-50%), and bone sarcomas (-31%), for a total number of about 200-250 fewer deaths per year in the late 1970's compared to the expected values using rates of the 1950's. The observed fall was apparently confined within the first age group considered (0-4 years), but the age-specific patterns of trend were partly influenced by simple postponement of some deaths to older age groups. Comparisons with similar data in other developed countries suggest that, although there has undoubtedly been some progress, there is still wide scope for further reduction in childhood cancer mortality in Italy, simply through more rational use of currently available diagnostic and therapeutic knowledge.
分析了1955年至1978年意大利儿童癌症死亡率的趋势。15岁以下所有癌症的年龄标准化死亡率下降了约20%，自20世纪70年代初以来呈明显下降趋势。白血病（-25%）、霍奇金病（-56%）、非霍奇金淋巴瘤（-27%）、肾癌（-25%）、视网膜母细胞瘤（-50%）和骨肉瘤（-31%）的死亡率均有明显下降，与使用20世纪50年代死亡率计算的预期值相比，20世纪70年代末每年死亡人数总共减少了约200 - 250人。观察到的下降显然局限于所考虑的第一个年龄组（0 - 4岁），但特定年龄的趋势模式部分受到一些死亡推迟到老年组的影响。与其他发达国家的类似数据比较表明，尽管无疑已经取得了一些进展，但仅通过更合理地利用现有的诊断和治疗知识，意大利儿童癌症死亡率仍有很大的进一步降低空间。
