A cancer diagnosis is always extremely difficult news for a patient and their family. It can be even more challenging for a vulnerable subset of the population: children, adolescents, and their families.
Childhood cancer occurs when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably, often involving precursor “blast” cells that form our blood and immune cells, bones, eyes, and brains. Unlike many adult cancers, pediatric cancers are usually not linked to lifestyle or environmental factors, making them harder to predict and prevent.
Childhood cancer has an outsized impact on a global scale. Worldwide, people under the age of 20 receive a cancer diagnosis every two minutes, directly impacting approximately 400,000 patients annually.
Most Common Types of Childhood Cancer
There is not one “childhood cancer.” Instead, it’s a group of diseases with more than 12 major types and over 100 subtypes. Each year, an estimated 9,550 children under the age of 14 are diagnosed with cancer, with the average age at diagnosis being just six years.
The most common types of cancer vary by age group.
Most common types of cancers in children under 15:
- Leukemias – cancers of the blood and bone marrow
- Brain and other central nervous system tumors
- Lymphomas – cancers of the immune system
Most common types of cancers in children between the ages of 15 and 19:
- Thyroid
- Hodgkin lymphoma – cancer of the lymph nodes
- Brain and central nervous system tumors
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
The Impact of Childhood Cancer Research
CRI is proud to have helped pave inroads in immunotherapy treatment for childhood cancer patients. Today, nearly 80% of childhood cancer patients survive long-term past their initial diagnosis – a dramatically improved outcome from past decades, thanks in part to CRI’s efforts.
The survival rates for these different types of cancers vary, but the majority of young people diagnosed with cancer are able to survive long-term thanks to advances in treatments over the past several decades, including immune-based therapies such as bone marrow transplants. These newer, personalized treatments have created a population of approximately half-a-million childhood cancer survivors in the United States.
The Role of Immunotherapy in Childhood Cancer
“CRI has funded a multi-institutional, national study of checkpoint inhibitor therapy in pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or HCC-like tumors. We are close to completing accrual on the first arm of the study, have not met any safety stopping rules, and have detected enough of a signal of efficacy to continue to enroll,” says former CRI CLIP Investigator Allison O’Neill, MD from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “The trial will allow us to collect serial assessments of immune function which will give us a correlative understanding of why some patients respond to treatment. Support from CRI has been invaluable for this ongoing initiative.”
Fortunately, advances in immunotherapy have produced five FDA-approved treatments for childhood cancers. They are effective in treating lymphoblastic leukemias, lymphomas, neuroblastoma, and advanced melanoma. There are also multiple immunotherapy treatments undergoing clinical trials that could prove useful in treating various forms of childhood cancer.
“Many of these cancers are curable, and we present it that way to families when appropriate. But every family wants to know: why did my child get this? Is it from something I did, or from something they did, or from where I live,” says CRI Lloyd J. Old STAR Robbie Majzner, MD from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “I explained that in almost every circumstance, pediatric cancer is a genetic accident, no different than the genetic accident of where you’re born, or what country you’re born in. Through research, we’ve been able to start learning how to tackle these diseases.”
What Does Federal Funding Mean for Childhood Cancer Research?
The field of childhood cancer research faces significant challenges due to a lack of federal funding. Despite progress, only four percent of all government cancer research dollars were designated for pediatric studies, while the bulk of approximately $8B supported adult cancer research. This disparity can create difficulties for a field that is inherently expensive.
In response to the current federal funding crisis, CRI took action. This immediate support includes an emergency pledge of $2.5 million to fund 10 additional postdoctoral fellowships, ensuring vital cancer research continues without interruption. CRI also offered all its current fellows a six-month extension, a further show of support to provide continuity and stability during this turbulent time.
Thanks to the scientific contributions of Drs. O’Neill and Majzner, and several other current and former CRI-funded scientists, outcomes for childhood cancer patients are greatly improving. With their continued scientific rigor and your ongoing support, CRI hopes to eliminate childhood cancers as we strive to create a world immune to cancer.
