More than 8 in 10 children and young people in UK now survive their cancer for 5 years or more. But some cancer groups and types types still have much lower survival. To compare the results of treatments, doctors often use 5- or 10-year survival rates.
It is estimated that there are around 45,000 people in the UK alive having been diagnosed with a childhood cancer, and approximately 1,300 are added to this number each year.
There are more than 200 different types of cancer. Each type has its own name and treatments. People with cancer need to have tests to find out exactly what type of cancer they have, and to find out whether it has spread. This helps the doctors plan the right treatment for each person.
About 1,900 children (up to the age of 15) in the UK are diagnosed with cancer each year.
Leukaemia, brain tumours and lymphomas are the most common diagnoses in children under the age of 15. Around half of all cases are found in the 0-4 year age group.
Cure rates for children are much higher than for most adult cancers. The survival rate for children’s cancer has more than doubled since the 1960s. More than 8 in 10 children (84%) in England now survive their cancer for 5 years or more (all cancers combined); but some cancer groups and cancer types still have much lower survival.
Children's cancers can be quite different from cancers affecting adults and tend to occur in different parts of the body to adult cancers. They also look different under the microscope and respond differently to treatment.
There is a network of specialist centres, known as Principal Treatment Centres, for diagnosing and treating children’s and teenage/young adult cancers.
About 2,300 teenagers and young adults are diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK.
Cancer in teenagers and young adults (15 - 24 years old) accounts for less than 1% of all cancer diagnoses in the UK each year. However, the impact of cancer can be devastating.
Carcinomas (breast, cervix and bowel), melanomas (skin) and lymphomas are the most common diagnoses in this age group. Around two-thirds of all cancer diagnoses in teenagers and young adults occur in age 20 -24 year olds.
Cancer is the most common cause of death from disease in young people. Around 250 teenagers and young adults die from cancer each year in the UK. But, survival for teenage and young adult cancer is improving. There have been huge improvements in cancer treatment for this age group in the past 50 years. Over 8 in 10 teenagers and young adults (87%) diagnosed with cancer in the UK now survive for at least five years; but some cancer groups and types have much lower survival rates. The death rate from cancer in this age group in the UK has halved since the mid-1970s.
There is a network of specialist centres, known as Principal Treatment Centres, for diagnosing and treating children’s, teenage and young adult cancers.
Causes of cancer in children and young people
It is still unknown as to what causes childhood cancer and research is being done to find out more.
Parents often worry that something they did or didn’t do may have caused their child’s cancer. This is not the case, so you shouldn’t feel guilty or that you’re to blame for your child’s illness.
It’s very rare for another child in a family to develop cancer, as most cancers aren’t caused by an inherited faulty gene and so it is usually not necessary to investigate siblings.
Cancer is not infectious and can’t be passed on to anyone who comes into contact with your child.
Sometimes, two or three children in the same school or local area develop cancer. This can make people worry that something in the local area is causing the cancer. Several cases of cancer in a small area are known as a cancer cluster.
Cancer clusters are carefully investigated, but are usually found to be a coincidence rather than being caused by a particular chemical or environmental change.
We don't know what causes most cancers, especially the types of cancer that teenagers and young adults get. When you are a teenager or in your 20s, cancer is something that can just happen without a reason.
Scientists are finding out more about cancer all the time. Understanding the causes of these cancers is an important area of research. In understanding the causes of cancer, we may be able to improve diagnosis, treatment, and ultimately outcomes.
One thing we definitely know is that cancer is not a disease you can catch from someone else - it is not infectious.
Remember that for most cancers:
- We don't know the cause, and
- It isn't anything you've done that has caused it.
Risk factors
Risk factors are things that can increase the chances of developing some cancers. Some of them you don't have control over - like genetics, and getting older. Some you do - like smoking, what you eat, drinking alcohol and sunbathing.
Examples of risk factors:
- Smoking can damage the DNA in our cells and can eventually lead to cancer.
- Having too much sun exposure, getting sunburnt and using sunbeds can damage skin cells. This can increase the chances of getting skin cancers like melanoma.
- Very rarely, cancer can be caused by a faulty gene that’s passed on through a family (inherited). But this doesn't often happen with the types of cancer young people usually get.
Our information about specific types of cancer has more information about what we know about causes for that type of cancer.
