Leukemia is The Most Common Type of Cancer in Children

Leukemia, blood cancer, is the most common type of cancer in children. Leukemia begins when the normal blood cells change and uncontrolled development. The most common type of childhood leukemia is acute lymphoblastic leukemia, also called acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia or ALL. When a child has all the cells in the bone marrow of children are outdated and replaced by abnormal lymphoblasts, which are immature lymphocytes (a type of white blood cells).

Normal cells in the body to fight infections. However, if your child has all of lymphoblasts, which fill the bone marrow are abnormal and do not develop into mature cells that can produce the antibodies needed to prevent and fight infection. These abnormal lymphoblasts also many other cells in the bone marrow, preventing the production of red blood cells, many other types of normal white blood cells and platelets (cells that help blood to clot). If the bone marrow does not function properly, the child may experience the following:

• Anemia occurs when blood has too few red blood cells. Anemia can cause fatigue, irritability, drowsiness, pallor, shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat.
• Bruising or bleeding injury can occur more easily, because the blood can not clot normally, when the platelet count is low.
• Infection can occur more frequently if there are too few normal white blood cells. Many types of normal white blood cells are needed, the health functions.

Leukemic lymphoblasts may accumulate in the lymph nodes of the child and make them swell. Lymphoblasts may also spread to other organs, including skin, liver, spleen, ovaries (females), testes (males) and cerebrospinal fluid.

This section covers everything that occurs in children, sometimes called all children or ALL. Learn more about acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Statistics

All is the most common form of cancer in children. Each year, about 2,400 children and young people aged 20 years diagnosed with ALL. It is more common among young children, especially children aged two and three. Five-year relative survival (the proportion of people living at least five years after the cancer is detected, except those dying of other diseases) in children with all is between 75% and 85%.

Statistics on cancer survival must be interpreted with caution. These estimates are based on data from thousands of cases of this type of cancer in the United States each year, but the real risk of a person may be different. You can not say how long the person he or she will live with all children. Survival, because statistics are measured in five years, can not be progress in the treatment and diagnosis of this tumor.

Risk Factors

A risk factor is anything that increases the risk of cancer of the person. Some risk factors can be controlled, such as smoking, and certain risk factors that can not be controlled, such as age and family history. Although the risk factors that may affect the development of cancer, most do not directly cause cancer. Some people are not risk factors for developing cancer over, and others with no known risk factors do.

Although doctors do not know what causes most childhood cancers, some evidence suggests that genetic factors may play a role in all. Children who are born with conditions that cause immune system disorders such as Down syndrome, ataxia telangiectasia and Bloom syndrome, may have a higher risk of leukemia. A child who has an identical twin who develops before the age of six years are at increased risk of leukemia. If identical twins develop leukemia during the first months of life, the other person is almost always the same development of leukemia. It is important to note, however, that for most children with leukemia, with no known cause or risk factor.

Symptoms

Children often suffer the following symptoms. Sometimes, children with ALL do not show any of these symptoms. However, these symptoms may be caused by a disease that is not cancer. For example, the first signs of ALL can resemble the flu or other common diseases. When one or more of these symptoms last longer than one might expect, or you are worried about a symptom on this list, you should consult a doctor about your child.

• Frequent infections
• Fever that will not go away
• Feeling weak and tired all the time
• Bone
• Swollen glands (neck, armpits and groin, for example)
• Paleness
• Bruising or bleeding
• Difficulty breathing
• Headaches

child's doctor may detect enlarged liver or spleen during a physical examination.

Diagnosis

Doctors use many tests to diagnose cancer and determine whether it has spread. Some tests may also determine which treatments may be more effective. patient history and physical examination, complete blood count (CBC) and bone marrow aspiration (see below) are the main procedures used to diagnose all, and everyone is used to diagnose all, or 'exclude other conditions.

1. Blood tests. Radio-Canada offers a number of each type of cells in the blood. Number of blood may show abnormalities of leukemic cells. Number of blood is abnormal in some way in almost all children at the time of diagnosis.
2. Bone marrow aspirate. the bone marrow aspiration is recommended if the blood test shows abnormal or immature blood cells in the blood, or if the doctor suspects that a child may have leukemia. For this test, samples of bone marrow is removed from the hip of the child with a needle and examined under a microscope. the child's skin in this area will be numbed with medication first. For this test, your doctor can determine if a child has leukemia, and if so, what kind it is leukemia. Your doctor or nurse to collect some samples of bone marrow at the same time in other studies, such as chromosomes and molecular genetic analysis and immunological (see rankings). These additional tests are often very important to determine which treatment is best.
3. Lumbar puncture (Spinal Tap). The lumbar puncture to determine if the leukemia has won the cerebrospinal fluid. It is a procedure in which the physician has samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to find cancer cells in blood or tumor markers (substances found in higher than normal amounts of blood, urine or body tissues of people with certain types of cancer). FSC is the flow of fluid around the brain and spinal cord. Doctors generally give an anesthetic to numb the lower back before the surgery. Presence or absence of leukemia in the central nervous system will help determine the most appropriate treatment. Sometimes when it is appropriate to give a drug for the treatment or prevention of leukemia, central nervous system along the lumbar puncture is performed.

Rating

Although there is no staging system for all children as compared to other types of cancer, there are a number of factors that help determine the best treatment plan and determine the probability that the cancer will return after treatment. Doctors plan treatment based on these factors and others:

• Age at diagnosis. Babies under 12 months and children aged 10 and over need more intensive treatments.
• WBC. Children higher white blood need more intensive treatment. Generally, white blood cells are labeled as greater if they are more than 50,000 per microliter (ml).
• Immunophenotyping.This term refers to a different profile of proteins expressed by leukemic cells. Find out if cancer cells expressing the protein at near-normal or B cell or T cells can help doctors plan appropriate treatment and is useful for predicting how cancer treatment.
• Genetic alterations in leukemia cells. Disorders of the number of chromosomes, abnormal structural changes in the chromosome, or some of the molecular genetic studies of chromosome evolution of leukemic cells may affect the outcome and therefore treatment. Please note that genetic modification referred to here are the changes in the genetic material of leukemic cells, not cell-child, most children with leukemia gene is normal.
• The response to early treatment. As the leukemia responds to the first four weeks of treatment (by examining the child's blood or bone marrow) can predict the overall response to treatment. Recent studies have shown that some children may need more intensive treatment to increase the chances of recovery. This also applies to those whose cancer does not respond well to early treatment or those with a high level of remaining leukemic cells (other cells after treatment) at the end of remission induction.

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