An updated assessment of 43,110 patients enrolled in the Childhood Cancer Research Network: A Children’s Oncology Group report

Brown AL, Sok P, Scheurer ME, Rabin KR, Marcotte EL, Hawkins DS, Spector LG, Lupo PJ. An updated assessment of 43,110 patients enrolled in the Childhood Cancer Research Network: A Children’s Oncology Group report. Cancer. 2022 Jul 15;128(14):2760-2767. doi: 10.1002/cncr.34248. Epub 2022 Apr 28. PubMed PMID: 35482017; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9233076.

The Childhood Cancer Research Network (CCRN) was established by the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) as a resource for epidemiologic studies of childhood cancer. Our objective was to evaluate the representativeness of CCRN and identify factors associated with enrollment. The number of U.S. childhood cancer patients diagnosed <20 years of age enrolled in CCRN (2008-2015) was compared to expected counts, calculated from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results incidence rates and U.S. Census population estimates. Observed-to-expected ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated across sex, race, diagnosis age, calendar year, and cancer diagnosis groups. Multivariable linear regression models were generated to evaluate the association between open COG Phase III therapeutic trials and CCRN enrollment rates.