AHLH-Foundation-does not claim to be an authority on childhood cancer. The information provided below is as published by the American Childhood Cancer Organization and The National Cancer Institute and can only be verified through those sources.
Childhood Cancer Statistics
Each year in the U.S. there are approximately 12,400 children between the ages of birth and 19 years of age who are diagnosed with cancer. About one in 300 boys and one in 333 girls will develop cancer before their 20th birthday. In 1998, about 2500 died of cancer, thus making cancer the most common cause of death by disease for children and adolescents in America.
Statistics on child and adolescent cancer incidence are collected by the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) SEER Program (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results). The data is collected at 10 sites (5 states including CT, UT, NM, IA, and HI and 5 cities including Detroit, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle), with each representing different geographic regions of the United States. The data is then extrapolated to represent national childhood cancer data. The following monograph link summarizes childhood cancer incidence and mortality by disease type, age, ethnicity, and sex. Data collected through SEER has shown that the incidence for some types of childhood cancer have increased slightly since 1970, but for the most part the rates have been fairly constant in the last several years.
Statistics on Childhood Cancer from NCI - "Cancer Incidence and Survival among Children and Adolescents: United States SEER Program 1975-1995".
Incidence Statistics
Childhood cancer rates vary by cancer type. The following graph illustrates the distribution of the more common childhood cancers for children ages birth to 14 years.
Survival Statistics
- While the incidence of childhood cancer has changed only slightly since 1970 (an increase from 11.4 per 100,000 population in 1974 to 14.8 per 100,000 in 2004), the overall survival rate for childhood cancer has increased drastically during that time period.
- Today, the overall 5 year survival rate for childhood cancer is close to 80%. Because treatment cure rates have increased, the population of childhood cancer survivors has also increased.
- Currently there are estimated to be 270,000 survivors of childhood cancer in the U.S. This equates to one in 640 young adults between the ages of 20 to 39 being a survivor of a childhood malignancy.
Survival however is with a "cost." Two-thirds of those who do survive face at least one chronic health condition. One quarter of survivors face a late-effect from treatment that is classified as severe or life-threatening. Late-effects of treatment can include heart damage, second cancers, lung damage, infertility, cognitive impairment, growth deficits, hearing loss, and more. It is becoming increasingly apparent that childhood cancer "is for life." It is imperative that all survivors of childhood cancer receive on-going monitoring and continued physical and psychosocial care throughout their adult lives.
Additionally, not all childhood cancers have known such successful survival rates. Sadly many types of childhood cancer continue to have a poor five year prognosis.
