The types of cancer affecting children are quite different from the cancers that affect teenagers and young adults. Thanks to investment in research and treatment, survival has increased dramatically over the past 50 years and four out of five young cancer patients can be successfully treated.
The treatments used for childhood cancer are toxic, unpleasant and uncertain. As well as finding new ways to treat those forms of cancer which still have a poor outlook, a major challenge facing doctors today is how to make treatments safer and minimise the risk of treatment-related harm in young patients.
The types of cancer affecting children, as well as what causes cancer in children, are quite different to those affecting adults. Despite a wealth of research, much uncertainty remains over what causes cancer in children.
