In the year 2000, more than 11,000 American children and teenagers are expected to be diagnosed with cancer, according to the National Childhood Cancer Foundation. About 70 percent of these youngsters will survive five years or more after diagnosis.
Leukemias and brain and central nervous system tumors are the most common forms of cancer in children. Lymphomas, sarcomas (cancers of the bone, cartilage or muscle) and cancers of the kidney and eye (retinoblastoma) are other forms of childhood cancer. Some of these cancers may be caused by inherited genetic abnormalities or exposure to radiation.
The types of cancers that occur in children are very different from cancers seen in adults. Even cancers that occur in both children and adults behave differently in the two age groups. According to the National Childhood Cancer Foudation, the most common childhood cancers are:
Leukemias-- 23 percent
Brain/central nervous system-- 18 percent
Lymphoma-- 15 percent
Carcinoma-- 10 percent
Germ Cell-- 8 percent
Soft tissue-- 7 percent
Bone-- 6 percent
Neuroblastoma-- 5 percent
Renal-- 4 percent
Retinoblastoma-- 2 percent
Hepatic-- 1 percent
Cancer can be difficult to detect in children, as symptoms often mimic those of common childhood diseases. Parents should pay close attention to any unusual symptoms in their children, such as painful swelling or masses, prolonged fever, dramatic loss of appetite or fatigue, frequent headaches and vomiting, unusual bruising and changes in vision.
Childhood cancers affect individuals up to the age of 21. Although teenagers can suffer from a childhood cancer, they may receive “adult” treatment, depending on their cancer and their age.
Children with cancer should be treated at specialized pediatric centers where highly trained doctors and child-specific support services exist. The most common treatments are chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Chemotherapy is often used to treat children’s cancer because their tumors grow quickly, and this treatment is especially effective against rapidly dividing cells. Surgery is used to remove tumors or parts of tumors, or to obtain pieces of tumor for a biopsy.
Bone marrow transplant (BMT) may be performed in patients with diseases that damage the bone marrow, such as leukemia. In BMT, chemotherapy or radiation is first used to kill the abnormal bone marrow cells. Then the patient receives a transfusion of healthy bone marrow, harvested either from the patient (called an autologous transplant) or from another donor (an allogenic transplant).
Some children with cancer may be eligible to participate in clinical trials, where, in addition to the chance of getting an experimental treatment, they will receive the best care available, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The Children's Cancer Group, the Pediatric Oncology Group, and the Children's Oncology Group are just a few of the organizations that conduct clinical trials. The NCI also has information about pediatric clinical trials.
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