In 2007, the American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that approximately 10,400 children under the age of 14 will be diagnosed with some form of cancer.  Because of medical advances in treatment, nearly 80 percent of these children will survive five years or more. This represents a tremendous increase since the 1960s, when childhood cancer survival rates were below 50 percent.

Cancers in children are significantly different than cancer in adults as to location and type as well as the response to treatment. In general, childhood cancers tend to respond better to chemotherapy drugs. This is because childhood cancers grow rapidly and most chemotherapy drugs target cells that rapidly divide. In addition, children usually can tolerate more aggressive therapy, resulting in a better response. OVerall, children have a higher survival rate from cancer than adults.

There are a number of cancers that are commonly found in children. Each cancer has a different cell type and presents with different symptoms.

Cancer develops when cells in a part of the body grow out of control. Normal cells grow, divide and die in an orderly fashion. Cancer cells, however, grow and divide but do not readily die. Instead, they outlive the normal cells and continue to divide.

Childhood cancers most often begin in the stem cells, which are basic cells capable of producing more specialized cells. A cell change or mutation is usually the cause of most childhood cancers.

Some childhood cancers are in the form of tumors, which are localized collections of cells. Not all tumors are malignant or life-threatening. Some tumors are benign, meaning they do not contain any cancer cells. However, these tumors can still cause complications, such as interfering with the normal growth of an organ.

Other childhood cancers, such as leukemia do not usually form tumors but involve the blood. Some types of cancers are more common than others in children. According to the ACS, the overall prevalence of each type of cancer is as follows:

Some childhood cancers commonly appear in very young children, such as Wilms tumor. Other cancers, including Hodgkin’s lymphoma, tend to occur during adolescence.

Childhood cancers grow at different rates and respond differently to treatment. Some cancers spread or metastasize quickly while others do so more slowly. The location, type and stage of the cancer all determine the course of treatment and prognosis for recovery.

The ACS estimates that nearly 1,550 deaths are expected to occur among children from birth to age 14 in 2007.  Of these deaths, approximately one-third will be from leukemia. Mortality rates from childhood cancers have declined by approximately 48 percent since 1975. Despite the small percentage of children diagnosed with cancer and the improved treatments, cancer is still the leading cause of non-accidental death in children younger than 14 years of age, according to the ACS.

Survival rates for childhood cancer vary considerably depending on the type of disease. The ACS calculates a five-year survival rate for cancers as a way to view the prognosis or outlook for recovery and survival. The five-year survival rate refers to the percentage of patients who live at least five years after their cancer is diagnosed. Many children live much longer than five years, and with advances in treatments, the five-year survival rate is more favorable for recently diagnosed patients.

For the most recent time period (1996-2002), the ACS survival rates for childhood cancers are as follows:

For all childhood cancers combined, the five-year survival rates have improved significantly over the past 30 years. Before the 1970s, the survival rates were less than 50 percent. Late in the 1990s, the survival rates increased to more than 70 percent. The higher survival rates are largely due to new and advanced methods for earlier detection and treatment of the disease.