Children's Tumours

Incidence

• Approximately 1200 children aged < 15 years in England & Wales are diagnosed with cancer each year, giving a rate of 12 per 100,000 children < 15 years.
• 1 in 550-600 children will be affected by the age of 15 years - which is similar to the rate for Down's syndrome, diabetes or meningitis in childhood.
• Acute leukaemia accounts for about 1/3 of all childhood cancers and brain/CNS tumours account for almost one-quarter. See table 1.1

Risk Factors

In most cases no risk factor can be identified. However, genetic susceptibility is apparent in some cases, associated conditions (see Table 1.2) or a family history in first degree relatives may be important.

Table 1.1 - Childhood Cancers*

*Reference - C. Stiller et al. United Kingdom National Registry of Childhood Tumours, England and Wales 1981-1990. In D M Parkin et al (ed) International Incidence of Childhood Cancer, Vol II. IARC Scientific Publication No 144 IARC Lyon 1998 pp 365-367

Table 1.2

Notes on Individual Childhood Cancers

1. Leukaemia

Children usually present with a relatively short history (weeks rather than months) with pallor, fatigue, irritability, fever, bone pain and bruising/petechiae.

• 70% have large liver and spleen
• > 50% have enlarged lymph nodes

Differential diagnosis includes infectious glandul