Incidence

Nearly 30% of U.S. population is under the age of 20. In this age group:

• Approximately 12,400 are diagnosed with cancer each year.
• In 1998, about 2500 died of cancer.

About one in 300 boys and one in 333 girls will develop cancer before the age of 20. (The distribution of boys and girls diagnosed varies by type of childhood cancer.)

The incidence, or frequency that cancer is diagnosed, has risen since the 1970s for some types of childhood cancer, but rates have been fairly stable in more recent years.

Incidence by Ethnic Group

The incidence for cancer is greater among white children than for children in all other ethnic groups. The largest racial difference is for leukemia, where the rate for whites is 41.6 per million, and only 25.8 per million for blacks.

Incidence rates for Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander children fall between those for blacks and whites. Incidence for American Indians is much lower than any other group.

Incidence also varies by type of childhood cancer. For example, the rate for Asian/Pacific Islanders is similar to that for whites for leukemia, but lower than whites for CNS and lymphomas.

Incidence by Type of Disease

The incidence of childhood cancer peaks in the first year of life. Incidence is higher for children under five and for those ages 15-19, and lower for children ages 5-14.

• The types of cancer most often found in young children (neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, retinoblastoma, ependymoma, and hepatoblastoma) are very uncommon in adolescents (ages 15-19).
• Cancers most often diagnosed in ages 15-19 and rarely in younger children include germ cell tumors, Hodgkins disease, and the bone cancers.
• Cancers most commonly diagnosed in adults (lung, breast, colon and others) rarely occur in adolescents or children.

The type of diagnoses varies according to age, as well.

This article includes data from:

Cancer Incidence and Survival among Children and Adolescents: United States SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) Program 1975-1995.

Ries LAG, Smith MA, Gurney JG, Linet M, Tamra T, Young JL, Bunin GR (eds). Cancer Incidence and Survival among Children and Adolescents: United States SEER Program 1975-1995, National Cancer Institute, SEER Program. NIH Pub. Nol 99-4649. Bethesda, MD, 1999.