childhood cancer

Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among U.S. children between infancy and age 15. (NCI)

  • About 12,060 children in the United States under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer in 2012.(ACS)
  • Every day, 36 children are diagnosed with cancer. (COG)
  • About 1,340 children are expected to die from cancer in 2012. (ACS)
  • More than 40,000 children undergo treatment for cancer each year.(COG)
  • Among the 12 major types of childhood cancers, leukemias (blood cell cancers) and cancers of the brain and central nervous system account for more than half of the new cases. About one-third of childhood cancers are leukemias. The most common type of leukemia in children is acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The most common solid tumors are brain tumors (e.g., gliomas and medulloblastoma), with other solid tumors (e.g., neuroblastoma, Wilms tumors, and sarcomas such as rhabdomyosarcoma and osteosarcoma) being less common. (NCI)
  • Pediatric cancers receive less than 3% of the National Cancer Institute budget. (MCT)

 

How is pediatric cancer different from adult cancers?

  • The types of cancers that develop in children are different from the types that develop in adults. (ACS)
  • Childhood cancers are often the result of DNA changes in cells that take place very early in life, sometimes even before birth. Unlike many cancers in adults, childhood cancers are not strongly linked to lifestyle or environmental risk factors. (ACS)
  • Cancers in adults and children often act and respond differently. For instance, pediatric cancers are frequently more aggressive and rapidly progressive than many of the more indolent adult cancers. (MCT)
  • Children and adults are affected by different types of cancers. Even the cancers that are “common” to both groups are frequently different on both phenotypic and molecular levels. (MCT)
  • Cancer treatments like surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or bone marrow transplant, kill cells that grow quickly, such as cancer cells. But in a child, healthy cells in the bone, brain, and other organs, are growing fast, too. Treatment can damage these cells and keep them from growing and developing the way they should. (ACS)
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