Cancer in children and young people is relatively uncommon compared to adult cancers.
About 1,645 children (up to the age of 15) in the UK are diagnosed with cancer each year with leukaemia, brain tumours and lymphomas as the most common diagnoses in this age group. Around half of all cases are found in the 0-4 year age group. Children's cancers can be quite different from cancers affecting adults and tend to occur in different parts of the body to adult cancers. They also look different under the microscope and respond differently to treatment.
About 2,110 teenagers and young adults (15-24 years old) are diagnosed with cancer every year with carcinomas (breast, cervix and bowel), melanomas (skin) and lymphomas as the most common diagnoses in this age group.
Cure rates for children are much higher than for most adult cancers. The survival rate for children’s cancer has more than doubled since the 1960s. More than 8 in 10 children in England now survive their cancer for 5 years or more (all cancers combined); but some cancer groups and cancer types still have much lower survival.
There is a network of specialist centres, known as Principal Treatment Centres, for diagnosing and treating children’s and teenage/young adult cancers.
Find out more about childhood cancer
Types of childhood cancer
I am worried my child has cancer
My child has cancer