epidemiology in childhood
Last reviewed 01/2018
Malignant disease affects 10 per 100,000 children per year.
The breakdown is:
- leukaemia 3.0
- CNS tumours 2.5
- reticuloendothelial system 1.0
- neuroblastoma 0.9
- wilm's tumour 0.5
- bone tumours 0.5
Note that acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the commonest form of leukaemia in children. Less than 5% of childhood tumours are acute or chronic myeloid leukaemia.
Generally childhood tumours tend to be poorly differentiated, fast growing, very malignant, very vascular and to show early and widespread early metastasis.