Childhood cancer

Childhood cancer is cancer in a child. About 80% of childhood cancer cases in high-income countries can be treated with modern treatments and good medical care.^[2][3] Yet, only 10% of children with cancer live in high-income countries where proper treatment and care are available.^[4][5] Children with cancer make up only about 1% of all cancer cases diagnosed globally each year.^[6] The majority of children with cancer are in low- and middle-income countries, where it is responsible for 94% of deaths among those under 15 years old.^[7] Because new cancer treatments are not easily available in these countries.^[7] For this reason, in low and mid-income countries, childhood cancer is often ignored in control planning, contributing to the burden of missed opportunities for its diagnoses and management.^[8]

Despite having better care, childhood cancer survivors are still at risk of recurrence and primary cancers.^[9] They also face challenges in education, income, and social support compared to the general population and their siblings.^[10]

In the United States, an arbitrarily adopted standard of the ages used is 0–14 years inclusive, up to age 14 years 11.9 months.^[11][12] However, the definition of childhood cancer sometimes includes adolescents between 15 and 19 years old.^[12] Pediatric oncology is the branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in children.