In the United States from 2001 through 2016, the rate of cancer in children and adolescents increased. Since 2016, the rate has been decreasing. However, the rate of certain cancers, including thyroid cancer and adolescent leukemia or lymphoma, continues to increase.
From 1970 through 2020, the number of deaths resulting from cancer decreased between 64% and 70% in children and adolescents.
Although more children now survive cancer, cancer remains a major cause of death among children. In the United States, cancer is the second most common cause of death among children 1 to 14 years old (surpassed only by accidents) and is the fourth most common cause of death among adolescents 15 to 19 years old.
Some of the most common cancers that occur in children or adolescents (birth to age 19 years) are:
Leukemia (accounts for about 28% of childhood cancer cases)
Brain and other central nervous system tumors (27% of cases)
Lymphomas (12% of cases)
Osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma of bone (3% of cases)
Cancers that occur almost exclusively in children (birth to age 14 years) are:
In contrast to many cancers that affect adults, cancers that occur mainly in children tend to be much more curable. About 85% of children and adolescents with cancer survive at least 5 years. In the United States, experts estimate there are about 400,000 to 500,000 survivors of childhood cancer.
Cancer Treatments and Treatment Complications
Similar to cancer care in adults, doctors use a combination of treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation, radiation therapy, immunotherapy (a type of treatment that uses a person's immune system to attack the cancer), and targeted therapy (medications that target specific gene mutations in cancer cells and destroy them), to treat children who have cancer.
Because children are still growing, these treatments, mainly chemotherapy and radiation therapy, may cause side effects that typically do not occur in adults. For example, in children, an arm or a leg treated with radiation may not grow to full size, or, if the brain is treated with radiation, cognitive development can be affected. (See also Cancer Treatment Principles.)
Children who survive cancer also have more years than adults to develop long-term consequences of chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and other treatments, which may include:
Infertility
Poor growth
Delayed or no puberty
Damage to the heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs
Development of second cancers (often years or decades after the original cancer)
Psychological and social problems
Developmental or neurologic problems or both
Because such severe consequences are possible and treatment is complex, children with cancer are best treated in centers where experts have experience treating childhood cancers.
Care Team for Cancer Treatment
The impact of being diagnosed with cancer and the intensity of the treatment can be overwhelming to the child and family. Maintaining a sense of normalcy for the child may be difficult, especially because the child may have to be hospitalized frequently and go to a doctor’s office or outpatient center for treatment. It is common for parents to feel an overwhelming sense of stress as they struggle to continue to work, be attentive to their other children, and still attend to the many needs of their child who has cancer (see Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs). The situation is even more difficult when the child is being treated at a specialty center far from home.
Did You Know...
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Children and parents need a pediatric treatment team to help manage care. Pediatric doctors are doctors who specialize in the care and treatment of babies, children, and adolescents. The team should generally include the following:
Pediatric cancer specialists (pediatric oncologist and radiation oncologist)
Pediatric oncology nurse (a registered nurse who cares for and educates children who have cancer and their families)
Other needed specialists, such as a pediatric surgeon with expertise removing or biopsying childhood cancers, a pediatric radiologist with expertise reviewing radiology (imaging) studies in children with cancer, and a pathologist with expertise diagnosing childhood cancers
The primary care doctor (pediatrician)
Child life specialists, who work with children and families in hospitals and other settings to help them cope with the challenges of hospitalization, illness, and disability
A social worker, who can provide emotional support and help with financial and other aspects of care
A teacher, who can work with the child, the school, and the treatment team to make sure that the child’s education continues
A school liaison, who can also help the child and family interact with the teacher and school
A psychologist, who can help the child, siblings, and parents with their mental health throughout treatment
Many treatment teams also include a parent advocate. A parent advocate is another parent who had a child with cancer and who can offer guidance to families who have a child newly diagnosed with cancer.
Children who are newly diagnosed with cancer should be evaluated by a cancer genetics team for genetic mutations that can increase a person's risk of developing certain types of cancer (cancer predisposition syndrome) or that can have an impact on treatment.
More Information
The following English-language resources may be useful. Please note that The Manual is not responsible for the content of these resources.
American Cancer Society: How to Cope if Your Child Has Cancer
American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts & Figures 2025
