International Childhood Cancer day is observed on 15 February every year with an aim to spread awareness about the dangers and risk factors of cancer in children.
If reports are to be believed, more than 4 lakh children and adolescents below the age of 20 are affected by cancer every year. The survival rate for children in high income countries is as high as 80% and is as low as 20% in the low income countries.
According to the Indian Journal of Medical and pediatric Oncology, 50,000 children between the age of 0 and 19 are expected to suffer from cancer every year and it is the ninth leading cause of deaths among children.
Let us know more about the common cancers affecting children, and their causes.
Childhood Cancer: Common Types in Children
According to the American Cancer Society, the cancers seen in adults is quite different from the type experienced in children. Few common types of cancers affecting children include:
Leukemia: It is one of the common cancer affecting children. One in three childhood cancer cases is either acute lymphocytic leukemia or acute myeloid leukemia. Chronic cases are rare in children.
Wilms Tumor: A type of childhood cancer that starts in the kidneys. Nine out of ten cases of kidney cancer in children is Wilms tumor.
Neuroblastoma: It is a rare type of pediatric cancer which affects children under the age of 5 and develops in the nervous system. It is known to develop in the immature nerve tissues.
Brain and Spinal Cord Tumour: In this cancer, abnormal cells develop in the tissues of the brain or spinal cord. It is common in children and the exact cause is still unknown.
Lymphoma: It is a common cancer affecting adults and the third cancer to be developing in the children after leukemia and brain tumor. Hodgkin lymphoma and non-hodgkin lymphoma are the two types. Hodgkin lymphoma accounts for 3 percent, and non-hodgkin lymphoma accounts for 5 percent of childhood cancer cases.
Rhabdomyosarcoma: This type of cancer affects the cells mainly in the skeletal muscles and can develop in any part of the body including head, neck, arm, belly, groin, etc.
Retinoblastoma: It is a type of eye cancer which mainly affects children around the age of two and seldom affects the children above six years of age. It is diagnosed due to a dark spot or abnormalities in the eye.
Bone cancer: This cancer accounts for 3 percent of the childhood cancer cases and develops in children at a later age but can affect them in any age. Osteosarcoma is bone cancer which develops in areas of growing bones whereas Ewing sarcoma starts to develop in the middle of the leg bone, pelvic bone or chest wall.
Childhood Cancer: Common Causes
Cancer is a disease which can affect a person at any age and develops in any part of the body. According to WHO, unlike adults, the cause of cancer in children is unknown.
There are very few cancers that develop in children due to environmental or lifestyle factors. It can also be the result of genetic changes in the cells which at times turn into a mass or tumor.
Research show that 10 percent of the childhood cancer cases are the result of genetic factors. Chronic infections like malaria, HIV and Epstein-Barr are also some contributing factors. Vaccinations can prevent cancers caused due to infections.
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