Children and young people's cancer in numbers

Cancer statistics for children and young people are generally split into two age groups. 0-14 years are classed as children and age 15 – 24 years are classed as teenagers and young adults.  We use these age categories when we talk about cancer in numbers. To compare the results of treatments, doctors often use 5- or 10-year survival rates. 

Cancer in children and young people accounts for around 1% of all cancer diagnoses_^[2], but cancer in children and young people is not rare; around one in every 450 will develop cancer by the age of 15, and around one in 370 by age 20._^[1]

Over 8 in 10 children and young people with cancer_^[1] are now cured, compared with fewer than 2 in 10 (less than 20%) in the 1960s but some cancer groups and cancer types have much lower survival. Survival has more than doubled since the 1970s._^[2]

Despite the improvements in survival rates, cancer remains the highest cause of death by disease in children and young people. Statistics for 2017 – 2019 show that there was an average of 250 deaths per year in both age groups._^[3,4]

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_^[6]. Approximately 2 out of 3 survivors will have a long-term side effect related to their cancer treatment, which may affect them throughout their life._^[6]

Children's cancer in numbers (age 0 - 14)

There are around 1,900 new cases of cancer in children in the UK every year_^[3]. Children’s cancer accounts for less than 1% of all UK cancer cases (2017 – 2019)_^[3]. It may seem that cancer is rare but the risk of a child developing cancer is comparable to the risks of other common childhood conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy and bacterial meningitis._^[5]

Children’s cancer incidence rate has increased by 8% since the early 2000s in the UK._^[7]

45% of childhood cancer cases are found in children aged 0-4 years old._^[1] 45% of cancer diagnoses are in girls, with 55% in boys._^[1] Around 1 in every 420 boys and around 1 in every 490 girls in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer by age 14._^[1]

84% of children_^[1] are now cured compared with less than 20% in 1960s. This has risen from 77% in the early 2000s. Although the survival rate has risen, this is not the case across all cancer types. In 2018, 260 children died from cancer, accounting for 7% of all deaths among 0-14 year olds._^[1]

Children’s cancer diagnoses are spread across 88_^[1] cancer types. The number of children diagnosed with each of these 88 cancer types varies considerably. The 88 types of children’s cancer, can be put into 12 main groups, and some groups are more common than others, as shown in the diagrams below.  The most common of these groups are: leukaemias (around 3 in 10 cancer cases diagnosed in UK children each year), brain and spinal, other central nervous system and intracranial tumours (around 2 in 10), and lymphomas (around 1 in 10)._^[1]

The graph below shows the average survival rate for each of the 12 groups of children’s cancers, meaning a specific type of cancer within that group may have a higher or lower survival rate. To compare the results of treatments, doctors often use 5- or 10-year survival rates.

Partners in this project to collate data and to create these graphics are The Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People and CCLG: The Children & Young People's Cancer Association.

Teenage and young adults cancer in numbers (age 15-24)

About 2,300 teenagers and young adults are diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK._^[4] 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 and cancer is the most common cause of death from disease in young people.

The incidence of cancer in teenagers and young people has risen by 9% since the early 2000s in the UK._^[8] 

47% of cancer diagnoses are in females, with 53% in males._^[1] Around 1 in every 361 males and around 1 in every 382 females in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer by age 24._^[1] But the incidence rates (how often a cancer occurs) for the types of cancer teenagers and young adults get vary between males and females. 

Around two thirds (63%) of cancer in teenagers and young people is found in 20-24 year olds._^[1]

87% of teenagers and young adults_^[1] are now cured, compared with fewer than 2 in 10 (less than 20%) in 1960s. This has risen from 79% in the early 2000s. Although the survival rate has improved overall, this is not the case across all cancer types. In 2018, 290 teenagers and young adults died from cancer, accounting for 11% of all deaths among 15-24 year olds._^[1]

The most common cancers found in teenagers and young adults are: carcinomas (other than kidney, liver and testicular) and melanomas (around 3 in 10 cancer cases diagnosed in UK each year), lymphomas (around 2 in 10 cases), germ cell tumours including ovarian and testicular cancers (around 16%) brain tumours (12%), leukaemias (9%) and soft tissue sarcomas (5%)._^[1] Malignant melanoma accounts for 10% of all cancer diagnoses in 15 – 24 year olds with it being twice as common in females as it is in males

Survival is lower in teenagers and young adults than in children for several cancer types, including bone tumours, soft tissue sarcomas, and leukaemia._^[1] 

Partners in this project to collate data and to create these graphics are The Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People and CCLG: The Children & Young People's Cancer Association.