Prevalent Childhood Cancers

Leukemia and brain tumors are the most prevalent cancers among children aged 0-14 years of age in the United States. Together, they account for one-half of all childhood cancers, 30% of which are leukemia and 20% of which are brain cancer. M 

Data from the SEER program (1975-90) and the American Cancer Society show the following percentages for childhood cancer in the United States. I4,5  

Soft tissue sarcoma Non-Hodgkin s lymphoma Hodgkin s disease Retinoblastoma Osteosarcoma Ewing s sarcoma 

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Clusters of childhood cancer have been identified in several locations and suspected in others. Leukemia and brain cancer are the two most prevalent of these cancer clusters in children. The following are examples of these two types of children s cancer clusters. 

Cancer is uncommon during the first two decades of life, but is nonetheless a substantial concern. In the United States, cancer is diagnosed in approximately 12 400 children and adolescents annually and is the most common cause of death from any kind of disease between 1 and 19 years of age. In the United States and other developed countries, lymphoid neoplasms (leukaemia, lymphoma) and cancers of the central nervous system are the most common paediatric malignancies. Other kinds of childhood tumours include embryonal tumours of the retina, sympathetic nervous system, kidney, and liver tumours of bone and soft connective tissues and certain gonadal neoplasms. Different kinds of cancer (e.g. carcinomas of liver or thyroid) may predominate in children in parts of the world where specific environmental risk factors are more prevalent. 

In addition, pediatric testing of anticancer agents is necessitated by childhood prevalence of fast growing cancers, such as lymphomas, leukemias, and... 

Magnusson S, Gisselsson D, Wiebe T, Kristofferson U, Borg A, Olsson H. Prevalence of germline TP53 mutations and history of Li-Fraumeni syndrome in families with childhood adrenocortical tumors, choroid plexus tumors, and rhabdomyosarcoma a population-based survey. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2012 50 846-53. 

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