Diseases
Author: Gesche Tallen, MD, PhD, erstellt 2006/04/08, Editor: Dipl.-Biol. Maria Yiallouros, Reviewer: Prof. Dr. med. Ursula Creutzig, English Translation: Dr. med. Gesche Tallen, Last modification: 2010/06/14
Overall, cancer in a person younger than 20 years is rare in Europe. It accounts for only 1% of all childhood diseases. According to the statistical data obtained between 1994 and 2003 and provided by the German Childhood Cancer Registry, leukaemias are the most frequent malignant diseases in children and adolescents (33.2%). The second most frequent malignancy (21.1%) and most frequent solid tumours in childhood are tumours of the central nervous system (CNS), followed by lymphomas (12.4%), neuroblastoma (8.3%) and nephroblastoma, also known as Wilms tumour (5.9%).
Kinder sind keine kleinen Erwachsenen. Daher unterscheidet sich Krebsim Kindes- und Jugendalter in vielerlei Hinsicht von Krebsserkrankungen bei Erwachsenen, sowohl was die Art und Häufigkeit der Erkrankung als auch deren biologische Eigenschaften und Ursachen betreffen. So sind Karzinome, beispielsweise, im Kindes- und Jugendalter außerordentlich selten (1 %), während sie bei Erwachsenen mehr als 90 % der Neuerkrankungen ausmachen. Oft können Kinder und Jugendliche erfolgreicher behandelt werden als Erwachsene und haben somit eine bessere Prognose.
Children are not little adults. Therefore, cancer in the young differs from cancer in adults regarding its frequency, cancer types, biological characteristics and possible causes. While exposure to dietary, lifestyle and environmental factors appear to play a major role in the development of cancers in adults, only a few risk factors, such as ionising radiation and a mother’s exposure to X-rays during pregnancy, have been identified as risk factors for the young, and these account for only a small proportion of cases. While carcinomas constitute more than 90% of diagnosed malignancies in adults, they are extremely rare in children (1%). Also, many childhood cancers are more successfully treated than cancers in adults. This is partly related to the fact that in general, children tolerate treatment better than adults. It may also be explained by the types of cells involved, since the relatively faster growth of cancers in children makes them more sensitive to treatment.
