Childhood

What are the most common types of childhood cancers?

The types of cancers that occur most often in children are different from those seen in adults. The most common cancers of children are:

Other types of cancers are rare in children, but they do happen sometimes. In very rare cases, children may even develop cancers that are much more common in adults.

What are the key statistics for childhood cancer?

Childhood cancers make up less than 1% of all cancers diagnosed each year. About 10,380 children in the United States under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer in 2016. Childhood cancer rates have been rising slightly for the past few decades.

Because of major treatment advances in recent decades, more than 80% of children with cancer now survive 5 years or more. Overall, this is a huge increase since the mid-1970s, when the 5-year survival rate was about 58%. Still, survival rates vary depending on the type of cancer and other factors. Survival rates for different cancer types are listed in “Surviving childhood cancer.”

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in children (after accidents). About 1,250 children younger than 15 years old are expected to die from cancer in 2016.

If you or a loved one has a child with cancer, there are many resources available to you. Click here for a list of resources.

Content provided by the website of the National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov ) and the American Cancer Society (http://www.cancer.org)

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