Childhood Developmental Cancer
Childhood developmental cancer is a group of tumors or diseases that occur during the formation of organs and tissues in the process of human development.
It affects children, teenagers and young adults. In most cases the causes of developmental cancers are unknown.
There are many different types of developmental cancers:
30% Leukemias (lymphoblastic leukemia)
30 % Tumors of the central nervous system
30% Includes many different types:
Neuroblastomas
Lymphomas (Hodgkin's Lymphoma)
Germ cell tumors (Germinal endodermal sinus tumor, Karyocarcinoma, Germinoma, benign germ cell tumors and Teratomas).
Bone tumors (Osteosarcoma, Ewing's Sarcoma)
Nephroblastomas (Wilms' Tumor)
Hepatic tumors (hepatoblastoma, hepatocellular carcinomas)
Tumors of musculoskeletal origin (Rhabdomyosarcoma)
INCIDENCE
Every year more than 1,200 new cases of cancer are diagnosed in Spain in children and teenagers. The approximate ratio is 1 developmental cancer for every 200 adults.
Worldwide, nearly 400,000 children and teenagers aged 0-19 years are diagnosed with cancer each year.
It is the leading cause of death in our country among children aged 5 to 14 years, and the second in the 15 to 24 years age group, after accidents.
WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT FROM ADULT CANCER?
Its low incidence makes childhood developmental cancer a rare disease. It cannot be prevented.
Early diagnostic protocols followed in adults are not applicable in children. The causes, therapies and responses to treatment are specific to these types of cancer and very different from those of adults.
Cure and survival rates are also not the same: in general, childhood developmental cancer is cured in 80% of cases (in developed countries, in the rest of the world survival is really low, less than 30%), but for certain types of tumors there is still no hope of cure.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SPECIFIC RESEARCH IN CHILDHOOD CANCER
Clinical trials of new drugs for pediatric oncology are very scarce, given the high cost of developing new drugs and the low incidence of this disease compared to adults.
For the most part, new therapies, devices and treatments are not tested in children.
As it is a minority disease, very few resources are allocated to research.
Most public and private efforts are focused on adults.