The median age for children at the time of a cancer diagnosis is six years for adults it is 67 years. Nevertheless, the cancers children develop tend to be more responsive to chemotherapy and radiation than those of adults. Thus, surgery alone is less likely to cure a child. It grows faster and is frequently metastatic (has moved to other parts of the body or to the major organs) by the time of diagnosis. Childhood cancer, except for leukemias and brain tumors, often arise in connective tissues such as bone and muscle.Ĭhildhood cancer is often more aggressive than adult cancers. Many adult cancers begin in specific organs, such as a lung, the breast, or the colon. One difference between pediatric and adult cancer is found in the cells in which the cancers originate. Still, despite enormous progress in the treatment of childhood cancer since the 1960s, it is the second-most common cause of death in children older than one year, with accidents being the first. Two-thirds of children with cancer are cured of the disease. The most important difference is that children have generally better prognoses than do adults. DescriptionĬancer in children (pediatric cancers) differs from cancer in adults in several important ways. Childhood cancers are malignant diseases that affect children under the age of 18 years.
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