Child Care: Common Types of Cancers Found in Children, Symptoms, Causes, and More

Child Health: Every year, around 50,000 children in India are diagnosed with cancer, a figure that is constantly growing due to improved diagnostic tools and a likely rise in incidence. Childhood cancer is rare, yet it can have a tremendous impact on a child’s life and family. The most frequent type of cancer in children is leukemia, specifically acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which accounts for around 40% of all juvenile cancer occurrences. Leukemia is classified into two subtypes: ALL and acute myeloid leukemia. Brain tumours are the second most common childhood cancer, with varying degrees of aggressiveness. Other malignancies affecting children include those that begin in the abdominal organs, such as hepatoblastoma (liver), Wilm’s tumour (kidney), and neuroblastoma, which generally shows as a mass in the abdomen of younger children. 

Types of Cancers in Children

Childhood cancers can include lymph nodes, with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma accounting for 6-8% of cases. Sarcomas, or tumors of the muscles and bones, account for approximately 6-8% of juvenile malignancies. Adult malignancies such as breast, stomach, colon, and lung cancers are uncommon in children, but they can occur in older children approaching maturity. Another famous childhood cancer is retinoblastoma, which is an eye tumor. These varied types of cancer demonstrate the wide range of pediatric malignancies, which primarily afflict children under the age of 18.