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MOST COMMON
FORMS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER
 LEUKEMIA is
the most common form of cancer for children. The body produces lymphocytes
to protect the body from infection. In leukemia, these cells do not mature
properly and become too numerous in the blood and bone marrow. Leukemia
may be acute or chronic. The most common type is acute lymphoblatic
leukemia (ALL). There are a number of other less common acute typed which
may be grouped together as acute non-lymphoblatic leukemia (ANLL). This
includes myeloid leukemia (AML).
NEUROBLASTOMA is one of the most common forms of solid tumors for
young children and is usually found in babies or very young children. The
disease originates in the adrenal medulla or other site is the abdomen
(near the adrenal gland) but can also be found in the chest, neck, pelvis,
or other sites. Most patients have widespread disease at diagnosis.
RETINOBLASTOMA is a rare tumor of the eye which develops in the cells
of the retina. Most patients are under 5 years old. Sometimes only one eye
is affected (unilateral- retinoblastoma), but about two-fifths of patients,
both eyes have the disease (bilateral-retinoblastoma). Some cases are known
to be hereditary.
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BRAIN TUMORS are the
most common solid tumors of childhood. Some are benign, others are
malignant. There are a number of different types of brain tumors. How
they are classified depends on the histology and location within the
brain.
 The
lymphatic system helps the body fight infection. There are two main
types of cancer associated with the lymphatic system:
HODGKIN's DISEASE
and
NON-HODGKIN's LYMPHOMAS (NHL). Both are rare in children under 3,
and are more common in older children and adults. More boys than girls
have childhood Hodgkin's disease. Childhood Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma is a
disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the lymphatic
system.
Childhood soft tissue sarcomas account for approximately 10% of all
childhood cancers. About half of all childhood soft tissues are
rhabomyosarcoma, which arise from skeletal muscles. They are most common
between the ages of 2 and 6. The other soft tissue sarcomas of childhood
include a wide range of different histologies: fibrosarcoma,
leiomyosarcoma, schwannoma, soft tissue Ewing's/peripheral
neutoectodermal tumors, synovial sarcoma, and many other types of
cancer. These non-rhabdo sarcomas are more common in adults. There are a
number of other less common types of cancer found in children. Many of
these are more common in adults and only affect a small number of
children. These cancers include renal carcinoma (kidneys),
chondrosarcoma (cartilage), adrenocortical carcinoma, thyroid carcinoma,
nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and melanoma. There are many less common types
of cancer. Some may be diagnosed without an identifiable primary site,
others may have difficult histologies that are hard to categorize.
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