Differences Between Childhood and Adult Cancers
Childhood cancers differ from adult cancers in many ways.
Childhood cancers are much less common than cancers in adults. Cancers in children and adolescents account for a small percentage of all cancers that are diagnosed.
Many cancers that affect adults are related to lifestyle risk factors, such as tobacco or alcohol use, poor diet, or sedentary lifestyle. On the other hand, the causes of most childhood cancers are not known.
Childhood cancers tend to occur at different sites from those common in adults. Among the most common childhood cancers are
leukemias,
lymphomas, brain tumors, and
bone cancer. Each of these cancers also occurs in adults, but adult cancers tend to strike the lung, colon, breast, prostate, and pancreas. There are some childhood cancers that almost never occur in adults, and some cancers that affect adults but virtually never occur in children. At the same time, there are cancers that, while more common at one age than another, can affect both adults and children.
Most adults who are diagnosed with cancer are treated in their local community by their primary care physicians and cancer specialists. Children’s cancers are much more rare than those of adults, so specialists in many smaller communities do not have continuing experience with the management of these diseases. For this reason, children usually are best treated by teams of doctors who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of childhood cancers. Such teams are much more likely to be found in eminent children’s hospitals, university medical centers, and cancer centers.
Over the past 20 years, there has been an increase in the number of children diagnosed with cancer. But, according to the National Cancer Institute, the death rate has decreased and the five-year survival rate has increased.
Common Childhood Cancers
The most common childhood cancers are leukemias, lymphomas, brain tumors, and bone cancers.
Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells. It affects bone marrow, causing it to produce large numbers of abnormal white blood cells. These white blood cells crowd normal, healthy blood cells out of the bone marrow and blood, leading to the common symptoms of leukemia: pale skin, bleeding, bruising, and serious infection.
Young children are most likely to have a type of leukemia called
acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Lymphomas is a cancer of the lymph nodes, part of the body’s immune system that helps fight infection. Lymphoma occurs when lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, become malignant and multiply out of control. The abnormal cells crowd out healthy cells and create tumors that may occur in lymph nodes or in other organs such as the liver or spleen. Lymphomas are divided into two categories,
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
and
Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which differ to some extent in their treatment and prognosis.
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is more common in very young children, while Hodgkin’s disease is more common in adolescents.
Brain tumors of the brain and spinal cord comprise the most common types of solid tumors in children. Not all brain tumors are cancers, but even the non-malignant ones may affect one or several of the functions controlled by the brain, including memory and learning, the senses, and emotions. Tumors may also affect body movement and may lead to seizures or other complex symptoms.
The incidence of brain tumors peaks between the ages of 5-10. Brain tumors occur somewhat more often in boys than girls.
Bone cancer is commonly found in the legs or arms, and around the knees.
Bone cancer in children most likely occurs during adolescent growth spurts. Osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, occurs more often in boys than girls. While cancer is very rare and pain is common, children who have unexplained persistent pain in a bone or joint should generally have an x-ray to make sure there is no cancer.
There are many other uncommon childhood cancers that cancer specialists are called upon to diagnose and treat. Fortunately, effective therapies exist for many of these cancers. The diagnosis of cancer can be a trying time for a child and family, but helpful and caring treatment can make a difference.
