What causes childhood cancer?
Little is really known about what causes each of the various types of childhood cancer. Research so far as not been able to tell us why certain children develop cancer and others don’t. What is known is that chromosome disorders account for most leukemias. High levels of exposure to radiation, such as the use of X-rays during pregnancy have been linked with one or more childhood cancers. And children with Down Syndrome are known to be at higher risk of developing leukemia. Other possible risk factors for childhood cancer may include parents’ diet, smoking, and alcohol consumption before the child was conceived, as well as infectious diseases, such as Epstein-Barr virus in Hodgkin disease. However, while environmental causes have long been suspected, it has been difficult for researchers to prove these theories with valid statistics.
