Cancer in children
In the UK, only 1 in every 500 children under 15 develops a cancer. About 1,600 children (up to the age of 15) in the UK are diagnosed with cancer each year. These cancers can be quite different from cancers affecting adults. They tend to occur in different parts of the body to adult cancers. They also look different under the microscope and respond differently to treatment. [1]
Cancers in teenagers and young adults (TYA)
In the UK, around 2,200 teenagers and young adults (15-24 years old) are diagnosed with cancer every year. Teenagers and young people tend to get different types of cancers to children and adults, with the most common ones being lymphomas and carcinomas, germ cell (ovarian and testicular) and brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumours. Over the last decade, TYA cancer incidence rates have increased by 6% in the UK.[2]
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. Much of the research is focused around possible environmental and genetic links.
Survival
To compare the results of treatments, doctors often use five or 10 year survival rates. It is estimated that there are at least 35,000 people in the UK alive having been diagnosed with a childhood cancer and survived more than five years.
References
[1] Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (2014) Children and Young People with Cancer: A Parent’s Guide www.cclg.org.uk
[2] Cancer Research UK (2013). Cancer Statistics Data table: Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Incidence, UK, 2009. Accessed 22/02/16 http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/teenagers-and-young-adults-cancers#heading-Zero.