{"id":26401,"date":"2020-09-28T09:04:48","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T09:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org\/?p=17976"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:16:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:16:17","slug":"science-surgery-how-are-childrens-cancers-different-from-adults-cancers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/science-surgery-how-are-childrens-cancers-different-from-adults-cancers\/","title":{"rendered":"Science Surgery: \u2018How are children\u2019s cancers different from adult\u2019s cancers?\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Science Surgery series answers your cancer questions.  <\/em><\/p>\n

Dr <\/span>Francis <\/span>Mussai<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>a<\/span> <\/span>Cancer Research UK<\/span>-funded<\/span> <\/span>children\u2019s cancer researcher and consultant oncologist at the Birmingham Children\u2019s Hospital<\/span>,<\/span> says that t<\/span>he types of cancers that we see<\/span> in children<\/span> are very different to the cancer that we see in adults.<\/span> \u201cC<\/span>ancer types <\/span>that<\/span> we frequently hear about in adults, such as breast, prostate, <\/span>bowel<\/span>, melanoma and lung cancer, are extremely rare in children.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Instead<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>it\u2019s more common to <\/span>see leukaemia\u2019s, brain cancers, and <\/span>cancers in developing structures, like <\/span>muscle, nerve tissue and kidney<\/span>,\u201d <\/span>Mussai<\/span> explains. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

But <\/span>that<\/span>\u2019s not to say that children\u2019s cancer<\/span>s<\/span> themselves are common. <\/span>Thankfully, <\/span>th<\/span>e number<\/span> of cancer cases in<\/span> children and young people <\/span>(aged 0-24) <\/span>make up less than 1% of the total number of cancer <\/span>cases diagnosed each year in the UK. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

In<\/span> children, leukaemia is the most commonly diagnosed cancer, accounting for almost a third of all cases in Great Britain. Brain<\/span> and<\/span> <\/span>other central nervous system and intracranial tumours account for more than a quarter of all children\u2019s cancers and lymphomas (a type of blood cancer) around a tenth.<\/span> <\/span>But it\u2019s not just the types of cancers that differ, it\u2019s also the biology. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Copy this link and share our graphic.<\/a> Credit: Cancer Research UK.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Why do children get cancer?<\/span> <\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201c<\/span>Adult cancers, on the whole, develop because of some sort of wear and tear or due to impacts of our lifestyle<\/span>,\u201d<\/span> says Mussai<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>\u201c<\/span>which damage our DNA, and lead<\/span>s<\/span> to a cell becoming abnormal and cancerous.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The biggest cancer risk factor <\/a><\/span>in adults<\/span> <\/span>is a<\/span>ge<\/span><\/a>. The older someone is, the more their cells will have divided, increasing the chances that DNA errors will occur. <\/span>And <\/span>as life goes on, people are also exposed to other factors <\/span>that can damage their<\/span> <\/span>DNA<\/span> <\/span>\u2013 like<\/span> <\/span>alcohol, <\/span>tobacco smoke and excess body weight.<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Understanding why children get cancer is a huge task and extremely complex. Generally, the cause of these changes to DNA that can <\/span>result in<\/span> childhood cancers are unknown, but many are likely to arise as a single random event that takes place inside a growing cell, without having an outside, or environmental source. And because of this, there is sadly no successful way to prevent childhood cancers from happening.  <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Mussai explains, \u201cr<\/span>esearch points to cancers in children developing from DNA errors that have occurred either during development in the womb<\/span>, or <\/span>because of<\/span> <\/span>infection or inflammation in early life leads to a second level of damage in the cells<\/span>, which may cause cells to become abnormal and trigger the cancer process.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Awareness is key <\/span> <\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not just the biology of the cancer that is different, but different circumstances mean that adults and children can be diagnosed in different ways. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Mussai explains how <\/span>there\u2019s <\/span>a<\/span> lack of awareness<\/span> of children\u2019s cancers<\/span>, particularly with symptoms. <\/span>With 1 in 2 adults getting cancer in their lifetime, <\/span>\u201c<\/span>p<\/span>eople are aware that cancer as an adult is possible and <\/span>often<\/span> <\/span>know <\/span>what the associated symptoms are. If an adult has an abnormal lump or coloration on the skin, they will, hopefully, seek their GP\u2019s<\/span> <\/span>attention<\/span>,\u201d says Muss<\/span>ai<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

But <\/span>c<\/span>hildren\u2019s<\/span> cancers are very rare diseases. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>P<\/span>eople aren\u2019t usually aware that symptoms in a child such as a lump, headaches, or bone pain could be cancer<\/span>.\u201d <\/span>More often than not it isn\u2019t, but it can affect <\/span>how people initially go hospital<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mussai explains that young children might not be able to <\/span>clearly articulate <\/span>their <\/span>symptoms, such as a lump or pain<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>This means a child\u2019s diagnosis can often be discovered by accident<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>\u201c<\/span>s<\/span>uch as when a child\u2019s be<\/span>ing<\/span> washed or when they fall over in a game of football and get an X ray<\/span>\u201d.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Teenagers and young adults <\/span>have <\/span>different challenges. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>They often have fears about what they have found. A lump might be something bad and this leads to difficulties in communicating something may be wrong to their parents or GP.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

A different and dedicated approach<\/span> <\/span><\/h2>\n

From the first conversations between a doctor and patient, <\/span>caring <\/span>for children with cancer needs a different and dedicated approach<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith an adult, when we make the diagnosis, we have a detailed discussion with the patient around what a specific treatment entails, what the chances are of getting better and what the side effects are,\u201d says Mussai. \u201cThe adult can then make a conscious decision about whether they really want that therapy or not. A young child can\u2019t say, I don\u2019t want treatment A or treatment B.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>T<\/span>he golden outcome, of course, whether you\u2019re treating an adult or a child with cancer is for the cancer to be cured<\/span>,\u201d<\/span> explains Mussai.<\/span> \u201c<\/span>But f<\/span>or children, we are acutely aware we are trying to achieve a truly long-term cure so that that <\/span>a <\/span>child can grow up to be an adult and live 30, 40, 50 years or longer.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Th<\/span>is <\/span>difference <\/span>creates <\/span>a <\/span>different<\/span> <\/span>set of <\/span>challenge<\/span>s<\/span> <\/span>for doctors <\/span>in <\/span>creating<\/span> new treatments for children<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>W<\/span>hen drugs are approved for adults with cancer, the benefit can be <\/span>sometimes <\/span>marginal in terms of overall <\/span>survival<\/span>. And that <\/span>is<\/span><\/em> a success. But in children, we need <\/span>a <\/span>much longer success<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>W<\/span>e need, years, decades.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Life after cancer<\/span> <\/span><\/h2>\n

Today, more <\/span>children and young people <\/span>are surviving cancer than ever before<\/span>,<\/span> with 8 in 10 children <\/span>living<\/span> for 5 years or more after their cancer diagnosis<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

There<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s a lot to celebrate. <\/span>S<\/span>ince the 1950s, pioneering <\/span>children\u2019s cancer specialists<\/span> <\/span>have <\/span>made fantastic strides in improving the <\/span>outlook <\/span>for children with cancer.<\/span> <\/span>\u201c<\/span>We would say that the majority of childhood cancers can be cured<\/span>,\u201d says Mussai.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>In the 1950s<\/span>,<\/span> almost <\/span>everyone<\/span> <\/span>with<\/span> acute lymphoblastic leukaemia<\/span> <\/span>died from it<\/span>. <\/span>N<\/span>ow, over 90% of patients <\/span>are cured<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

But for these children, there needs to be an emphasis on life after cancer. And we know that survivors can experience serious long-term side effects.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cP<\/span>eople forget the price for the patients <\/span>that survive<\/span>,\u201d says Mussai. We\u2019ve blogged before<\/a> about <\/span>the side effects of children\u2019s cancer treatments<\/span>, which can include <\/span>h<\/span>eart conditions or <\/span>e<\/span>ffect<\/span>s on<\/span> their growth.<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

And while 8 in 10 <\/span>children<\/span> <\/span>surviving their cancer for more than 5 <\/span>years <\/span>represents huge progress, it\u2019s not good enough. <\/span>That\u2019s where research comes in<\/a>. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The journey doesn\u2019t end <\/span>t<\/span>here<\/span> <\/span><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a lot of work still to be done <\/span>to <\/span>increase our <\/span>understand<\/span>ing of<\/span> <\/span>children\u2019s cancers<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>\u201c<\/span>By understanding th<\/span>e biology<\/span> better,<\/span> <\/span>we will be able to design better treatment approaches that lead to really good long<\/span>\u2013<\/span>term <\/span>outcomes<\/span> with low toxicity for our young patients<\/span>.<\/span>,\u201d says Mussai<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>And t<\/span>hat underlies everything that we\u2019re really trying to do<\/span>\u201d.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re dedicated to raising awareness of childhood cancers and to developing a strong, long-lasting community of doctors, nurses and scientists to develop new treatments for children and young people with cancer.<\/a><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShowing that cancer in children exists is important<\/span>,<\/span> a<\/span>lthough they\u2019re rare, all of us may know a family who has been affected by childhood cancers,\u201d Mussai <\/span>concludes. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Sheona Scales is Cancer Research UK\u2019s paediatric lead<\/em><\/p>\n

More on this topic<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our Science Surgery series answers your cancer questions.   Dr Francis Mussai, a Cancer Research UK-funded children\u2019s cancer researcher and consultant oncologist at the Birmingham Children\u2019s Hospital, says that the types of cancers that we see in children are very different to the cancer that we see in adults. \u201cCancer types that we frequently hear about in adults, such as breast, prostate, bowel, melanoma and lung cancer, are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26401"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44139,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26401\/revisions\/44139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}