How are childhood cancers different from adult cancers?
Adults are most affected by breast, lung, prostate, bowel and bladder cancers. Children are most affected by acute leukemias, tumours of the brain and nervous system, the lymphatic system, kidneys, bones and muscles. The causes of adult cancers are often related to lifestyle factors such as exposure to the environment, diet, alcohol intake and smoking. The causes of children’s cancers are in most cases unknown. While many of the same interventions such as chemotherapy, radiation and surgery are used to used to treat children’s cancers, children are more apt to suffer significant after effects such as cognitive dysfunction, cataracts and organ failure as a result of the harsh impact of the treatment on their young and developing bodies. One grateful difference between children’s and adult cancers is that children have an overall cure rate in the area of 73%, while the cure rate for adult cancers hovers in the 50% range.
