Related News
Brain cancer now kills more US children than leukemia
Print Edition
BRAIN cancer is now the deadliest childhood cancer in the US, now ahead of leukemia, a result of improved leukemia treatment and a frustrating lack of progress on brain cancer.
Government statisticians reported the change in rankings yesterday, drawing from a review of 15 years of death certificates.
“I think most people, when they think of childhood cancer, think of leukemia,” said Sally Curtin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This is kind of a changing of the guard.”
Cancer is the fourth leading cause of death for children overall, accounting for about one in 10 childhood deaths in 2014. About a quarter these cancer deaths, or 534, were due to brain cancer. There were 445 leukemia deaths.
Accidental injuries remained the leading cause of death for those under 19, followed by suicide and murder.
There are still more new cases of leukemia each year than new cases of brain cancer, but it no longer accounts for the most deaths. That’s due to advances in leukemia treatment and because it is easier to treat, experts said.
“Some types of leukemia that a generation ago were almost universally fatal are now almost universally treatable,” said Curtin, a statistician who worked on the report.
But the rate of death from brain cancer for children has been about the same level for at least 15 years, according to the CDC report. The trends are similar for adults, too, the American Cancer Society said.
As leukemia affects the blood, it is easier for doctors to get to and fight it with treatments such as chemotherapy.
The brain is protected by a barrier which helps keep many dangerous chemicals — including many cancer drugs — from getting to brain tissue or brain tumors. Surgery is difficult and sometimes impossible, depending on where the tumor is located. Radiation treatment can damage brain development.
“There’s survival, and then there’s survival at a price,” said Dr Katherine Warren, an expert in pediatric brain tumor research at the National Cancer Institute.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
