Introduction

Survival from childhood cancers has improved tremendously over the last five decades [1]. Indeed, about 80% of childhood cancers can be successfully treated in high-income settings with good access to modern treatments and supportive care. Unfortunately, about 90% of children at risk of childhood cancer each year reside in developing countries, with limited availability and accessibility to technical platforms for early diagnosis and management of childhood cancers [2–5]. Since children depend on their parents or carers, their symptoms might be overlooked, leading to delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis and late treatment initiation, eventually leading to poor patient outcomes [6]. In addition, children are often neglected in cancer control programs, partly because of a paucity of data on childhood cancer risk and survival [7].
In 2019, pediatric cancers represented the sixth leading cause of the global burden of cancers and the ninth leading cause of global childhood disease burden [1]. Despite representing only 1% of global cancer cases diagnosed yearly, childhood cancers are associated with disproportionately high disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) because children have a longer life expectancy. For instance, over 80% of the 11.5 million DALYs attributed to childhood cancers in 2019 occurred in LMICs [1].
In Cameroon, childhood cancers account for 1 to 2% of all cancers, and malignant hemopathies like acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) represent about 50% of childhood cancer cases. Although 90% of these cancers are curable, over 80% of patients seek care at an advanced stage of the disease, leading to high mortality rates of up to 40% [8]. For example, data from the Yaoundé population-based cancer registry estimates an incidence of childhood cancers of 125/1,000,000 children, with approximately 1552 incident cases of childhood cancers expected to occur annually [9]. Despite this incidence level, in 2018, the pediatric oncology unit of the Mother and Child Centre of the Chantal Biya Foundation [MCC/CBF] (The Reference Pediatric Hospital located in Yaoundé, Cameroon) recorded only 150 new cases of childhood cancer11Pediatric Oncology Unit Service Register, Mother and Child Center/Chantal Biya Foundation, representing below 10% of the expected number, which is likely an underestimation of the true value.
Data on the management of childhood cancers in Cameroon are warranted for policy implementation and prioritization of expenditures. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the key obstacles to optimal pediatric cancer care in the two functional oncology services in Cameroon. Specifically, we aimed to describe pediatric cancer service availability, human resource capacity involved in pediatric cancer care, treatment completion, patient education and disclosure as well as data management system for pediatric cancers.