Why does cancer occur in children, what are the chances of recovery from cancer in childhood: we present modern figures and facts.

Oncological diseases in childhood are much less common than in adults.

There are many types of cancer that are common in children, and their picture is complex and varied..

Therefore, any child with unusual, unexplained symptoms should be tested without fail..

If your child is worried about something, it is unacceptable to wait and waste precious time searching for articles and self-diagnostics on the Internet..

Cancer in children is not a death sentence these days.

Treatment methods and prognosis for most cancers are improving all the time, and thanks to modern medicine, most of sick children can be completely cured.. The main thing is not to waste time for diagnostics..

How common is cancer in children

Childhood cancer is very rare - pediatric oncology accounts for less than 1% of total cancer cases in the developed world. About 1 in 500 young Europeans will develop some form of cancer by the age of 14.

The number of children diagnosed with cancer in the world has increased by more than a quarter since the late 1970s. This is due, among other things, to more advanced diagnostic methods..

Leukemia, brain tumors and lymphomas account for more than two thirds of all cancers diagnosed in children. Leukemia is the most common diagnosis.

How Cancer Affects Your Child and Family?

About 9 out of 10 cases are successfully treated.

But cancer can cause serious emotional and social problems for a child and his family, in addition to physical consequences..

Treatment is usually very effective, but medications to treat cancer (chemotherapy) can cause long-term side effects such as weakness, nausea, poor appetite, and hair loss. Treatment can last for months or even years, which means a long hospital stay away from family, friends, and school.

School-aged children may lag behind and require individualized learning. Children with cancer are often too weak and get tired quickly to catch up with the school curriculum or even play active games with their peers. Some become very withdrawn, anxious, or depressed due to the effects of therapy and anxiety..

Approximately 60% of surviving children will suffer devastating long-term consequences, including neurological and muscle problems, infertility, and secondary cancer.

What are the causes of cancer in children?

Much less is known about the causes of cancer in children than about cancer in adults..

Although some risk factors are well understood, most patients do not have a single risk factor.. And yet they get sick. Nobody can be insured.

The cause of cancer in children is probably a combination of a number of external and internal adverse factors..

Known causes of cancer in children include:.

• Hereditary diseases.

• Problems with intrauterine development.

• Exposure to certain infections.

• Radiation radiation.

• Cancer treatments in the past Other potential causes of cancer have been reported, but scientific studies have found no evidence. Among the main suspects are electromagnetic fields and even vitamin K injections in newborns..

Hereditary diseases.

Certain inherited (genetic) conditions can make a child more likely to develop certain cancers. For example, children with Down syndrome are 20 times more likely to develop leukemia.. But leukemia is still considered a rare disease, even with Down syndrome..

Problems with intrauterine development.

Certain cancers in children, such as kidney cancer (Wilms tumor) and eye cancer (retinoblastoma), may start before the baby is born.

Many parts of the body develop early in pregnancy. Sometimes cells remain immature instead of developing normally. These immature cells usually mature on their own over time.. But sometimes errors occur and they turn into tumor cells.

Exposure to certain infections.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a common infection in young children.

EBV usually does not cause symptoms, but it can manifest itself as a picture of infectious mononucleosis, especially in adolescents. In very rare cases, the virus causes cancer, including some types of lymphoma.

Radiation radiation.

Children exposed to radiation after the atomic bombings in Japan were at high risk of developing leukemia. The connection between radiation and cancer was proved by the terrible experience of Chernobyl.

Children who have previously received radiation therapy for cancer have a slightly increased risk of developing other tumors in the future.. But this risk is very small compared to the threat to their health if they refuse to undergo radiation therapy..

Cancer treatments in the past.

Chemotherapy with certain drugs may increase the risk of developing cancer (such as acute leukemia) over many years. This risk is also very small compared to the risk to their health if the initial cancer is not treated with chemotherapy..

What types of tumors are found in children?

There are dozens of diseases, but most often occur in childhood:.

Leukemia.

Leukemia (leukemia) is cancer of the bone marrow and blood. It is the most common cancer in childhood and adolescence..

There are two main types of childhood leukemia - acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. Chronic myelogenous leukemia affects a small number of children. With leukemia, abnormal white blood cells appear in the blood and displace normal blood cells.. The symptoms of the disease are manifold.

Here are just a few of them:.

• Pain in bones and joints.

• Weakness and fatigue.

• Pale skin due to anemia.

• Tendency to bleeding.

• Unexplained weight loss.

• High fever Brain and spinal cord cancer.

Malignant neoplasms of the brain and spinal cord are the second most common cancer in children.. They occupy about 25% of pediatric oncology. There are many types of brain tumors that differ in treatment and prognosis..

Brain cancer in children can cause the following symptoms:.

• Headaches.

• Nausea and vomiting.

• Deterioration of vision.

• Violation of gait.

• Dizziness.

• Seizures Spinal cord tumors are less common than brain tumors in both children and adults. With them, movement and autonomic disorders come to the fore..

Lymphomas.

Lymphomas most often begin in the lymph nodes or other tissues of the lymphatic system, including the tonsils. Lymphomas can affect the bone marrow and other organs, causing about 1 in 10 childhood cancers.

Symptoms depend on which part of the body is affected by the lymphoma:.

• Weight loss.

• Heat.

• Weakness and fatigue.

• Excessive sweating.

• Swollen lymph nodes In childhood, the two most common types of lymphoma are Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.. Both types can occur in both a child and an adult.

Hodgkin's lymphoma is much more common in adults and rarely affects children under 5. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, on the other hand, is more likely to occur in childhood, but is still very rarely diagnosed in young children under 3 years of age..

Soft tissue sarcomas.

Soft tissue sarcomas account for approximately 7 out of 100 childhood cancers. Rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive and highly malignant tumor, accounts for more than half of all soft tissue sarcomas in children..

Soft tissue sarcomas can start anywhere in the body, including the head and neck, groin, abdomen, arms, and legs. Symptoms largely depend on the location of the tumor..

Neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma is a malignant tumor of specialized nerve cells called neural crest cells. It accounts for 6 out of 100 new cases of childhood cancer in developed countries.

Neuroblastoma usually occurs in infants and young children, and rarely occurs after 10 years. The tumor can occur anywhere, but most often originates in the nerve cells of the abdomen, where swelling is noted.

Other symptoms of neuroblastoma:.

• Swollen lymph nodes.

• Weakness, poor appetite and weight loss.

• Pain of various localization.

• Heat.

• Constipation or diarrhea Kidney cancer.

About 9 out of 10 kidney cancers in children are due to Wilms' tumor (also known as nephroblastoma). Wilms' tumors account for approximately 5 out of 100 cancers in children.

Wilms tumors usually begin in one kidney, less often in both. Most often, the disease is diagnosed at the age of 3-4 years, and after 6 years the incidence decreases sharply. Wilms' tumors may initially present with an unusual lump in the tummy.. Later, high fever, weakness, poor appetite may join.

Bone cancer.

Cancers that start in the bones (primary bone cancer) are most common in older children and adolescents. However, the disease can develop at any age..

Primary bone cancer accounts for 3 in 100 childhood cancers. The prognosis for bone tumors is often not as favorable as for other cancers..

There are two main types of primary bone cancer in children:.

• Osteosarcoma is most common in adolescents and usually develops in areas of rapid bone growth, such as the legs or arms. Osteosarcoma causes bone pain that gets worse at night or with physical activity.

• Ewing's sarcoma, a less common type of bone cancer that can also cause pain and swelling. Mostly found in adolescents. Among the typical localizations of Ewing's sarcoma are the pelvic bones, ribs, shoulder blades, legs.

Germ cell tumors.

Germ cells are special cells in the body that transform into sperm or an egg.. They are found primarily in the ovaries or testes.. Much less often germ cells are found in other parts of the body..

Liver cancer.

Liver cancer is rare in childhood. About 4 out of 5 liver tumors in children are hepatoblastomas, the rest are hepatocellular carcinoma (hepatocellular carcinoma). The disease may present with swelling and abdominal pain, weakness, loss of appetite, fever, jaundice, and other symptoms..

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