Mortality declines for many childhood cancers have slowed since the mid-1990s, and few new cancer drugs are being developed for children, according to the “Pediatric Cancer Landscape 2026” report published Sept. 29.
The report — a joint effort between the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the Alliance for Childhood Cancer — was developed by representatives from the FDA, National Cancer Institute, Memphis, Tenn.-based St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, pharmaceutical companies and pediatric advocacy groups.
Here are seven things to know from the report:
- In 2026, the American Cancer Society projects 9,680 new cancer cases and 1,090 cancer deaths among U.S. children ages 0 to 14, and 5,660 cases and 730 deaths among adolescents ages 15 to 19.
- Since 1996, death rates for pediatric cancers other than leukemia and lymphoma have declined 0.5% per year, down from 1.9% per year between 1975 and 1996. Leukemia and lymphoma death rates declined 3% to 4% per year through 2020.
Overall, pediatric cancer death rates fell 58% from 1975 to 2024. - The five-year pediatric cancer survival rate rose from 63% for patients diagnosed in the late 1970s to 86% for patients diagnosed between 2015 and 2021.
Survival for brain and central nervous system tumors rose from 59% to 75% over that period. Survival for rhabdomyosarcoma rose from 49% to 64%, and survival for osteosarcoma rose from 45% to 64%. By comparison, survival for non-Hodgkin lymphoma nearly doubled, from 47% to 90%.
By age 50, 96% of childhood cancer survivors were living with at least one serious long-term health problem, such as heart damage, hearing loss or a second cancer. - Of the 122 new cancer therapies approved by the FDA between 2016 and 2025, only four were originally developed for children.
The 2017 Research to Accelerate Cures and Equity for Children Act expanded pediatric testing requirements for targeted cancer drugs. The Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act, signed Feb. 3, 2026, will allow the FDA to require pediatric studies of certain targeted drug combinations starting in February 2029. - In a 2023 survey, more than 80% of institutions reported an active shortage of a drug used to treat children with cancer. Many of the affected drugs are decades-old generics that earn manufacturers little profit.
- About 80% of U.S. children diagnosed with cancer are treated at a Children’s Oncology Group institution. The group is a National Cancer Institute-supported network of more than 220 pediatric cancer centers in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Between 2007 and 2018, 38% of children seen at a Children’s Oncology Group institution were enrolled in a research study. Overall enrollment peaked in 2011 at nearly 43% but fell to just under 33% by 2018.
Enrollment was highest among children under 5, at 54%, and lowest among adolescents and young adults, at about 20%. - Between 2016 and 2025, National Cancer Institute funding for pediatric cancer research rose 49% after adjusting for inflation, compared with 7% growth in the institute’s overall budget.
Read the full report here.
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