Sex Bias in Treatment Abandonment of Childhood Cancer in India.

To explore the magnitude of sex bias and determinants of treatment abandonment (TA) in childhood cancer in India. Individual data of children (0–19 y) registered between January 1, 2017 and July 31, 2022, was compiled. TA was defined as defaulting curative intent treatment ≥4 wk. Defaulting treatment irrespective of intent ≥4 wk was defined as Treatment Default (TD). The primary outcome was the proportion of male-to-female children with TA. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of male-to-female children with upfront TA, TA at relapse, TD, TD-p (TD only in the palliative setting). The impact of clinico-demographic factors on TA was analysed using multivariable regression and propensity score matching (PSM). Three thousand two hundred eighty four patients were analysed. The overall male-to-female ratio (MFR) was 2.08 (95