Study: Cancer Rates In Young Children Are Increasing Worldwide
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Cancer rates in young children are on the rise globally.
That's according to findings recently published in the journal of JNCI Cancer Spectrum from researchers at the University of Minnesota.
According to the study, researchers found an increase in cancer rates in children under 5-years-old for both common types of childhood leukemia, one brain tumor subtype, hepatoblastoma and neuroblastoma.
Researchers conducted the study by analyzing cancer rates for 11 different types of pediatric cancers from 1988 to 2012. The study reviewed data from individual countries in 15 subregional categories.
The study found hepatoblastoma, a rare liver tumor, to have the largest increase in incidence in 11 out of 15 regions. Researchers say the disease increase ranged from 1.9 to 6.5 percent per year.
"While our research suggests hepatoblastoma is the fastest rising cancer in children under five, this is still a very rare cancer. This finding should not be concerning to parents," said study lead Jenny Poynter, an associate professor in the Medical School and Masonic Cancer Center member. "While we attempted to evaluate rates for all regions in the world, the data are too sparse to say if this pattern exists in less developed countries."
The study found an increase in hepatoblastoma in all regions except southern Asia.
Researchers say astrocytic tumors in the brain were the only cancer that decreased over time.
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