Avoidable Causes of Childhood Cancer

The Increasing Incidencebut Decreasing MortalityRates Of Major ChildhodCancers, 1975-2009*SITE % IncreaseIncidence% DecreaseMortality**Overall 35 53Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia 58 70Bone & Joint 57 33Brain & Nervous System 52 33Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma 40 75Leukemia 33 65Kidney (Wilms Tumor) 20 0* National Cancer Institute, Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results, 2011.** The striking decrease in mortality reflects the National Cancer Institutes successin developing pediatric clinical trial cooperative groups in 2000. (The CancerLetter, June 8, 2012).Association withCongenital DefectsSeveral childhood cancers occur so early in life that they must haveoriginated during fetal life, or shortly thereafter.* These include acutelymphocytic leukemia, neuroblastoma,**and kidney and liver cancers. Cancerin the mother, particularly melanoma, can spread to the infant.* MILLER, R.W. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 40; 1079-1085, 1968.** The author is a survivor of this cancer