Pediatric Hematology-Oncology in Countries with Limited Resources

Typically, manuals of pediatric hematology-oncology are written by specialists from high-income countries, and usually target an audience with a sub-specialist level of training, often assisted by cutting-edge diagnostic and treatment facilities. However, approximately 80% of new cases of cancer in children appear in mid- and low-income countries. Almost invariably, general practitioners or general pediatricians without special training in oncology will look after children with malignancies who enter the health care system in these countries. The diagnostic facilities are usually limited, as are the treatment options. The survival figures in these conditions are somewhere below 20%, while in high-income countries they are in the range of 80% for many childhood cancers. 

Pediatric Hematology-Oncology in Countries with Limited Resources is the only book of its kind to provide specific guidance applicable to limited resource settings and builds up from the foundation of general practitioner or general pediatrician competence. Written and edited by leaders in the field, this manual educates physicians on the essential components of the discipline, filtered through the experience of specialists from developing countries, with immediate applicability in the specific healthcare environment in these countries.?

Dr. Cristina Stefan is Professor, Senior Consultant, and Head of Hematology and Oncology Service, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Univeristy of Stellenbosch and Tygerberg Children's Hospital (South Africa).

Dr. Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo is Associate Medical Director for Clinical Trials at the Dana-Farber Harvard Medical Cancer Center, the Director of the Pediatric Solid Tumor Program, Medical Director of the Pediatric Oncology Clinical Trials, Program Leader for Experimental Therapeutics in the Department of Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital.