Types of Childhood Cancer
What Are the Types of Childhood Cancers?

Leukemia - children's (in the form of acute lymphocytic/lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL])is the most common childhood malignancy and accounts for about 33% of all childhood cancers.

Wilms tumor is a cancer that may affect one or both kidneys. It is most often found in children between 2 and 3 years old.

Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial (outside of the brain) solid tumor in children and most often diagnosed during the first year of life. This tumor can appear anywhere but usually occurs in the abdomen (stomach) as a swelling.

Retinoblastoma is a cancer of the eye. Although relatively rare, it accounts for 5% of childhood blindness.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children. The tumor originates from the same embryonic cells that develop into striated (voluntary) muscles.

Brain and spinal cord tumors in children are the second most common cancers in children. Most brain cancers of children involve the cerebellum or brain stem. Adults are more likely to develop cancers in different parts of the brain -- usually the cerebral hemispheres. Spinal cord tumors are less common than brain tumors in both children and adults.

Bone cancer is uncommon, comprising approximately 0.2% of all new cancer cases in the US. The incidence of primary bone cancer (cancers starting in bones) is highest in children and adolescents, but metastatic bone cancer, or cancer that has spread to the bone, is more common than primary bone cancer in all age groups.

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of primary bone cancer in children and young adults.

Ewing's family of tumors is a less common primary bone cancer that occurs mostly in children and adolescents.

Hodgkin disease, sometimes called Hodgkin lymphoma, is a cancer that starts in lymphatic tissue. Lymphatic tissue includes the lymph nodes and related organs that are part of the body's immune and blood-forming systems. Hodgkin disease can occur in both children and adults. It is more common, though, in 2 age groups: early adulthood (age 15 to 40, usually 25 to 30) and late adulthood (after age 55). Hodgkin disease is rare before 5 years of age. About 10% to 15% of cases are diagnosed in children 16 years of age and younger.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the third most common childhood malignancy and occurs approximately 1½ times as often as Hodgkin disease in childhood. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that starts in lymphoid tissue.