For a child born in the 1960’s, the diagnosis of the most common form of childhood cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), meant almost certain death, with a survival rate of less than 10%. A child with the same diagnosis today has a better than 80% chance of being cured.
对20世纪60年代出生的孩子而言，被诊断出患有最常见的儿童癌症急性淋巴细胞白血病（ALL）&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 其存活率不到10%，也就是说患儿几乎必死无疑。而今天诊断出相同疾病的儿童治愈率却超过80%。回顾白血病患儿从20世纪70年代到90年代的五年存活率可以看到治愈率几乎呈直线上升。