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IMAGE SOURCE: Wikimedia Commons/ lymphoblastic leukemia in a child/ author: Christaras A
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A new study finds that U.S. childhood cancers are more commonly found in the Northeast region of the country, affect more boys than girls, and more adolescents than younger children.
This first large government study to identify cancer by regions, represents 90 percent of the country.
On average, childhood cancer affects 166 of every million U.S. children.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied childhood cancer rates from 2001 through 2003 including data from 39 national cancer registries, part of a national SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results) databases.
During that time they identified 36,446 cases of cancer, among them leukemia. The most common cancer in children, leukemia affected just over 26 percent. Brain tumors followed affecting 17.6 percent, followed by lymphoma at 14.6 percent.
These three cancers represent about 60 percent of all childhood cancers.
In the study, boys were more likely to have lymphoid leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, osteosarcomas, hepatoblastoma and Burkitt lymphoma. Girls more commonly had kidney cancers, malignant melanoma, and thyroid cancers.
Radiation has been commonly linked to most common types of childhood cancers, among them, leukemia, lymphomas and brain cancers. Radiation comes from X-rays, nuclear plants and naturally occurring radon gas. Cancer has been associated with radiation fallout from nuclear testing.
Among children ages 14 and under, the rate of cancer incidence was 151 per million. For older children between 15 and 19, the rate of cancer incidents was 210 per million.
Among the rates – Caucasian children had an incidence rate of 173 cases per million. Hispanic children had an incidence rate of 164 per million, black children had a rate of 118 per million, and Asian, Pacific Islanders had an incidence rate of 131 per million.
The lowest rates of cancer are found among Alaska Natives and American Indians with 97 per million.
Children living n the Northeast, which also had the lowest death rates, had an incidence rate of 179 cases per million. The Midwest followed with 166; the West with 165; and the South with 159 incidents of cancer per million.
Dr. Jun Li , with the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, says researchers do not know the reason for the differences among regions, races and sexes., but the differences could partially be the result of reporting.
The data will be used to prioritize future childhood cancer research needs.
Dr. Li’s study is published in the June issue of Pediatrics. #