Paediatric: Key Points

Incidence

• Approximately 1200 children aged < 15 years in England & Wales are diagnosed with cancer each year, giving a rate of 12 per 100,000 children < 15 years.

• 1 in 550 - 600 children will be affected by the age of 15 years – which is similar to the rate for Down’s syndrome, diabetes or meningitis in childhood.

• The estimated number of new cases diagnosed each year by individual tumour type is shown in Table 12.1. Acute leukaemia accounts for about 1/3 of all childhood cancers and brain/CNS tumours account for almost one quarter.

Risk Factors

In most cases no risk factor can be identified. However, genetic susceptibility is apparent in some cases, and associated conditions or a family history in first degree relatives may be important.