Children's Cancer Foundation - Providing Hope

There are 12 Major Types of
Childhood Cancers

Among the 12 major types of childhood cancers, leukemia (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 medulloblastomas), with other solid tumors (e.g .neuroblastomas, Wilms tumors, and sarcomas such as rhabdomyosarcoma and osteosarcoma) being less common.

In the United States in 2007, approximately 10,400 children under age 15 were diagnosed with cancer and about 1,545 children will die from the disease. Although this makes cancer the leading cause of death by disease among US children 1 to 14 years of age, cancer is still relatively rare in this age group. On average, 1 to 2 children develop the disease each year for every 10,000 children in the United States 

Over the past 20 years, there has been some increase in the incidence of children diagnosed with all forms of invasive cancer, from 11.5 cases per 100,000 children in 1975 to 14.8 per 100,000 children in 2004. During this same time, however, death rates declined dramatically and 5-year survival rates increased for most childhood cancers. For example, the 5-year survival rates for all childhood cancers combined increased from 58.1 percent in 1975–77 to 79.6 percent in 1996–2003. This improvement in survival rates is due to significant advances in treatment, resulting in a cure or long-term remission for a substantial proportion of children with cancer.

The causes of childhood cancers
are largely unknown.

Environmental causes of childhood cancer have long been suspected by many scientists but have been difficult to pin down, partly because cancer in children is rare and because it is difficult to identify past exposure levels in children, particularly during potentially important periods such as pregnancy or even prior to conception. In addition, each of the distinctive types of childhood cancers develops differently — with a potentially wide variety of causes and a unique clinical course in terms of age, race, gender, and many other factors.

Possible risk factors suspected include diet, exposure to pesticides, toxins, plastics and other environmental elements … but in studies have not been linked to cause. However: chemotherapy for some forms of childhood cancer have been linked to an increase in leukemia (secondary cancers), as has AIDS, certain genetic syndromes and chromosomal conditions (such as Down syndrome), and high levels of ionizing radiation. This is a simplification of research that implies specific causes are linked to various types of cancer in children.

Children’s Oncology Group has also established a Childhood Cancer Research Network that creates a national registry of children with cancer. This initiative builds upon the unique NCI-supported national clinical trials system for treating children with cancer.