The problem of treatment abandonment in children from developing countries with cancer

BACKGROUND: There is an inequality gap between the outcome of childhood cancer in resource, rich and limited countries. Abandonment of treatment is one of the reasons for this. PROCEDURE: We searched the medical literature for evidence on abandonment, its causes, and any preventative interventions. RESULTS: Abandonment is a very real problem all across the developing world. Cancers associated with poorer prognosis seem to have higher abandonment rates. It is also related to the socio-economic and educational status of parents, travel time to treatment centers, and affordable, locally available treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Twinning between institutions, which includes several preventative interventions, has clearly been shown to work.