Childhood Cancers
The most common childhood cancers are leukemia, lymphoma, and brain cancer, affecting 14 of every 100,000 children in the United States each year. In children in their teen years, the incidence of osteosarcoma (bone cancer) becomes higher.
The factors that relate to the cause of cancer in children are different than those of adult cancers, such as smoking. In nearly all cases, childhood cancers arise from non-inherited mutations in the genes of growing cells.
Sometimes a doctor spots early symptoms of cancer at regular checkups. But often, some of these symptoms (such as fever, swollen glands, frequent infections, anemia, or bruises) are also associated with other infections or conditions that are not cancer.
After cancer diagnosis is made, it is important for parents to seek treatment for their child at a medical center that specializes in Pediatric Oncology.
Survival rates for childhood cancer have improved sharply over the past three decades.
In the United States, more than 80 percent of children with cancer are alive 5 years after diagnosis, compared with about 62 percent in the mid-1970s. Much of this improvement is due to the development of advanced therapies at cancer centers that specialize in caring for children.
What are children's cancer centers?
Children's cancer centers are hospitals or units in hospitals that specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in children and adolescents. Most children's, or pediatric, cancer centers treat patients up to the age of 20.
Are there standards for children's cancer centers?
The following groups have established standards for children's cancer centers or programs:
- The National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored Children's Oncology Group (COG), formerly two separate groups known as the Children's Cancer Group (CCG) and the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG), is a network of children's cancer centers that meet strict quality assurance standards. The COG Web site can be found at on the Internet.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated its Guidelines for Pediatric Cancer Centers in 2004. This document describes the personnel and facilities needed to provide state-of-the-art care for children and adolescents with cancer.
- The American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) established standard requirements for programs treating children with cancer and blood disorders.
Department Contact List
- Department of Pediatric Oncology at Santa Clara.
- Department of Radiation Oncology at Santa Clara.
- Pediatric Surgery at Santa Clara
