Childhood Cancers
There are over 75 types of childhood cancer which can then be put into 12 main groups.
Here is some information on some of these childhood cancers:
Always seek professional medical advice if you suspect your child may have any of the symptoms given in the information below.
Brain Tumors
Brain tumours are the most common tumours that develop in children, they account for around 2 in 10 new cases of childhood cancer each year.
Children of any age can be affected and about 400 children in the UK develop brain tumours each year. Boys are affected slightly more often than girls. Brain tumours can be either benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Benign Tumors are referred to as benign due to the appearance under the microscope of the abnormal cells that make up the tumour. It is unusual for Benign cells to spread into other areas.
Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common type of leukaemia diagnosed in children. The word Acute means that Leukaemia can develop quickly.
ALL is a type of blood cancer that starts from young white blood cells called lymphocytes in the bone marrow. ALL is most common in children and young people than adults, and even more common in young children aged 0 – 4.
Juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML)
Juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML) is a very rare type of slowly developing (chronic) blood cancer that occurs in young children.
Leukaemia means a cancer of the blood forming system. The blood forming system is the bone marrow, the soft inner part of your bones. Although JMML has leukaemia as part of its name, the World Health Organisation (WHO) does not classify it as a leukaemia. It’s now included in a group of blood cancers called myeloproliferative and myelodysplastic disorders.
Neuroblastoma
Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer that affects children, mostly under the age of 5 years old. Around 100 children are diagnosed with neuroblastoma each year in the UK.
It is very rare that it can develop in older children, teenagers and adults. Neuroblastoma is a cancer that starts in a type of nerve cell called a neuroblast.
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Around 95 children (aged 0 to 14 years) are diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in the UK every year.
Lymphoma means cancer of the lymphatic system. The lymph system is an important part of our immune system. It plays a role in fighting bacteria and other infections and destroying old or abnormal cells, such as cancer cells.
Retinoblastoma
Retinoblastoma is a type of eye cancer. It most commonly affects children under the age of 5. Around 45 children are diagnosed with retinoblastoma in the UK every year.
Children with both eyes affected are usually diagnosed in the first year of life. Those with one eye affected tend to be diagnosed a bit later, often between 2 and 3 years.
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a type of sarcoma made up of cells that normally develop into skeletal (voluntary) muscles. These are muscles that we control to move parts of our body.
Sarcomas are cancers that develop from connective tissues in the body like fat, muscles, bones, blood vessels or linings of our joints.
Wilms Tumour (Nephroblastoma)
Wilms tumours are a type of kidney cancer that mainly affects children. They develop from cells called nephroblasts and so are also called nephroblastomas.
Kidney cancer in children is rare but Wilms tumour is the most common type. Around 80 children are diagnosed with a Wilms tumour each year in the UK. It is most common in children under 5 and very rare in adults.
