We are working with the Instituto Nacional da Cancerología to increase survival rates of children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and solid tumours by reducing abandonment of treatment and developing locally appropriate treatment protocols.

The hospital diagnoses around 300 new cases of child cancer every year. Most children come from a large rural catchment area surrounding Bogotá. About 70% of patients are admitted with easily treatable cancers such as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and solid tumours. The INC has an overall survival rate of children with cancer of around 30%.

The Story of Luisa >

Major Challenges:

• Abandonment of treatment is a major problem with more than 35% of patients failing to complete the full course of treatment.
• Around a third of patients die from the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs.
• There is lack of specialist paediatric oncology expertise and skills amongst doctors, nurses and pharmacists.
• Families do not receive any practical, financial or emotional support to help them cope with long stays in hospital.
• Many children are diagnosed with advanced cancers due to lack of awareness of the early symptoms of the disease.
• Colombia has no country-wide cancer plan for children. The INC has the highest success rate at 35% but in many hospitals it is lower than 10%.

Project Objectives

• Increase survival rates to over 60% – this equates to saving around 60 children every year.
• Create a centre of excellence for paediatric oncology at the Instituto Nacional da Cancerología
• Provide practical, emotional and financial support for the families of children with cancer to assist them in completing the full course of treatment.
• Develop a national model for the treatment and care of children with cancer in Colombia including guidance on improving diagnosis.

What is World Child Cancer doing to help?

• We have developed the twinning partnership between the Instituto Nacional da Cancerologíaand Dana Farber Cancer Institute and are funding the ongoing medical training programme to transfer vital expertise and skills.
• We are providing funding for drugs, extra staff and improvements to the collection of data.
• We are supporting the development of the local parent support group, The Opnicer Foundation, which will play a pivotal part in reducing abandonment of treatment. Our parent/carer advocate trustees are providing advice and guidance to the Foundation’s Director.
• Our medical trustee, Dr Rual Ribeiro, is providing ongoing mentoring for the project leader.

If you are a healthcare professional with specialist paediatric oncology expertise and interested in getting involved in one of our projects please - click here to contact us

Key Facts

• Colombia is a middle income country with a per capita GNI of US$4,660 (Gross National Income (GNI), Atlas method, World Bank data 2008)
• The population is around 44 million people of which approximately 40% are under 18 years of age.   
• The Instituto Nacional da Cancerología is Colombia’s main cancer hospital determining national cancer policy. It is government funded but many patients struggle to access free healthcare as a result of changes to Colombia’s health insurance system.   
• 2,500 new cases of childhood cancer are expected each year – although not all are diagnosed.   
• The most common childhood cancer is acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and the typical survival rate is below 20%. 

Bogotá, Colombia

Project Centre: Instituto Nacional da Cancerología (INC), Bogotá
Project leader: Dr Martha Vizcaino
Twinning Centres: Dana Farber Cancer Institute, University of Harvard, Boston, USA
Local Support Group: The Opnicer Foundation
Start Date: May 2009
Length of Project: Five years
Funding From World Child Cancer: £195,000 over five years