Cancer is a leading cause of death for children and adolescents.

Cancer is a leading cause of death for children and adolescents. The likelihood of surviving a diagnosis of childhood cancer depends on the country in which the child lives; in high-income countries, more than 80% of children with cancer are cured, but in many LMICs less than 30% are cured .Although childhood cancer cannot generally be prevented or identified through screening, most types of childhood cancer can be cured with generic medicines and other forms of treatment, including surgery and radiotherapy.
The reasons for lower survival rates in LMICs include delay in diagnosis, an inability to obtain an accurate diagnosis, inaccessible therapy, abandonment of treatment, death from toxicity (side effects) and avoidable relapse. Improving access to childhood cancer care, including to essential medicines and technologies, is highly cost-effective, feasible and can improve survival in all income settings.Childhood cancer data systems are needed to drive continuous improvements in the quality of care, and to inform policy decisions.
Causes
Cancer occurs in people of all ages and can affect any part of the body. It begins with genetic change in single cells, that can then grow into a mass (or tumour), invade other parts of the body and cause harm and death if left untreated. Unlike cancer in adults, most childhood cancers do not have a known cause. Many studies have sought to identify the causes of childhood cancer, but very few cancers in children are caused by environmental or lifestyle factors. Cancer prevention efforts in children should focus on behaviours that will prevent the child from developing preventable cancer as an adult.