There are answers to the question why adults get cancer. For example, unhealthy diet for a long time, bad habits, negative environmental impact and heredity. When asked why children get cancer, scientists and doctors are still looking for an answer. The two named causes most often affect the development of the disease in babies. This is ecology and heredity. What else causes cancer in a child? About what types of diseases children have, about the causes, symptoms of diseases, diagnosis and modern methods of treatment - more on this later in the article. So, in order.
Causes of cancer in children. What kind?
Environmental impact and heredity. These are the two reasons that most often affect the development of cancer in children, and scientists highlight. What does it mean?
The health of the unborn child will depend on how well the parents have good health. Statistics is inexorable. Children born 25-30 years ago were stronger than the current generation. This is affected primarily by the lifestyle of parents.
The health of the unborn child depends largely on the parents
Doctors advise parents when planning pregnancy to abandon bad habits and strengthen the body. In addition to addictions to nicotine and alcohol, there are factors that have a direct effect on children:
- poor nutrition of the mother during pregnancy;
- work in hazardous work while carrying a child;
- environmental impact;
- taking medications;
- radioactive radiation;
- previous abortions;
- premature birth;
- lack of breastfeeding.
The reasons for the development of oncology in children can also include the presence of infections and viruses in the blood of the expectant mother. The age of the woman also matters. The younger the future mother, the stronger the baby. Conversely, the older the woman who gave birth, the higher the chances of developing cancer in the child. The same can be said of men. Addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and in some cases to drugs, will affect the next generation. And the age of the future father, like the mother, matters.
Ecology and genetic mutations
You can not discount the environment in which the baby lives. Poor environmental or living conditions can cause cancer in a child. In turn, an unfavorable environment can contribute to genetic mutation. It will provoke cancer. Currently, the state of water, air, soil is poor. The air in megacities is polluted by industrial production, exhaust gases. The soil is subject to heavy metal pollution. In some regions, people live in houses built using radioactive materials.
And that's not it. There are other reasons that contribute to the development of oncology in children, which can also be attributed to external factors of influence:
- long-term use of drugs;
- sunburn;
- viral infections;
- second hand smoke;
- stressful situations.
Modern practices abroad
An important point. Modern genetics allows you to determine the presence of mutations, hereditary pathologies that can lead to the development of cancer in a child. What does it mean? In many Western countries, the method of genetic testing of couples wishing to start a family is widespread. But even such a method does not give one hundred percent confidence that the disease will manifest itself or not.
Symptoms of oncology in children: what parents and doctors should pay attention to
What to do? What symptoms of cancer in children can be, and how do they manifest? Doctors say they are on alert. This means that pediatricians and parents should be aware of simple symptoms that may be harbingers of a serious illness. They must be careful.
It often happens that the first signs of cancer in children are disguised as common diseases. There are many such cases. If the disease does not lend itself to traditional methods of treatment and proceeds atypically, this is an occasion to turn to specialized specialists. Those, in turn, will be sent to do tests for cancer. Dislike of parents visiting clinics and standing in line for a doctor often leads to big problems. Sometimes mothers do not pay due attention to alarming symptoms, taking them for fatigue, overwork, usual indigestion or a cold that does not go away for a long time.
Children's cancer is treatable. But subject to timely seeking medical help. The chances of a successful cure increase with the diagnosis of cancer in a child in the first stage. If a cancer is detected at the third or fourth stage, the possibility of recovery is very small. Be carefull. Knowing the symptoms of the development of cancer will allow you to diagnose the disease in the early stages and use gentle methods of treatment, give hope for a full recovery.
Early development of oncology and symptoms
So, more details. Headaches and vomiting - in 80% of cases it is a tumor of the central nervous system.
Changes in gait, impaired coordination, deformation of the back? The cause may be a brain or spinal cord tumor.
What can a sharp decline in vision say? About a critical symptom that develops due to a brain tumor.
Fatigue, lethargy, apathy, loss of appetite and weight loss, fever, vomiting, swollen lymph nodes ... These are possible symptoms of blood cancer in children.
Swelling of the face, weakness, fever, sweating, pallor - signs of a malignant tumor of the kidneys, neuroblastoma. Pain in the eye, the appearance of strabismus are symptoms of retinoblastoma.
Diagnosis: What cancer tests can diagnose the disease in children?
It is more difficult to diagnose diseases in a child than in an adult. Symptoms are most often disguised as other, less dangerous ailments. Sometimes the disease proceeds without any signs at all, and is detected by chance, with a general examination. Diagnosis is also complicated by the fact that the child is not always able to correctly formulate a complaint - what, where and how much it hurts. Most often, malignant tumors in children are detected at the stage at which anatomophysiological visible disorders occur.
For the diagnosis of cancer in children, all research methods that are available in modern medicine are used. For instance:
- general and special blood tests;
- general urine analysis;
- x-ray;
- ultrasound procedure;
- magnetic resonance imaging / computed tomography;
- puncture;
- radioisotope scanning.
To track the genetic mutations that cause cancer, a molecular biological study of DNA and RNA is used.
Pediatric oncology: classification of cancer in a child
The classification of cancer in children distinguishes three types of cancerous tumors:
1. Fetal.
2. Juvenile.
3. Tumors of the adult type.
Embryonic tumors are a consequence of pathology in the germ cells. In this case, the tissues of the formations are histologically similar to the tissues of the fetus or embryo. These include blastoma tumors: retinoblastoma, neuroblastoma, hepatoblastoma, nephroblastoma
Juvenile tumors. They affect children and adolescents. Tumors result from the transformation of a healthy or partially altered cell into a cancerous one. The process by which healthy cells acquire malignant properties is called malignancy. Both completely healthy cells and partially altered non-malignant cells, such as polyps, stomach ulcers, can be affected. Juvenile tumors include carcinomas, sarcomas, lymphomas, Hodgkin's disease.
Adult type tumors are a type of mass that is very rare in babies. These include some types of carcinoma, neuroma, skin cancer in children. But they are treated with great difficulty.
Oncology in children - types of diseases, statistics
The species that is most common among children is leukemia. This name combines brain and blood cancer. According to statistics, the proportion of blood cancer in pediatric oncology is 30%. As you can see, this is a considerable percentage. Common symptoms of blood cancer in children are fatigue, weakness, fever, weight loss, joint pain.
A brain tumor is the second most common disease. 27% is the share of this disease. Brain cancer in children often occurs before the age of 3 years. There is a violation of the development of the embryo in the prenatal period. Reasons may include:
- a woman's illness during pregnancy;
- bad habits, such as smoking and drinking alcohol;
- complications of bearing the fetus or during childbirth.
Neuroblastoma is a cancer that affects only children. The disease develops in the nerve cells of the fetus. It manifests itself in newborns and infants, less often in older children. It makes up 7% of all cases of cancer.
An ailment that affects one, less often both kidneys, is a Wilms tumor. This disease affects children under the age of 3 years. Often such a tumor is diagnosed at a stage when it is manifested by swelling of the abdomen. Wilms tumor accounts for 5% of all such diseases.
Lymphoma is an oncological disease that affects the lymphatic system. This cancer "attacks" the lymph nodes, bone marrow. Symptoms of the disease are manifested in a tumor of the lymph nodes, fever, weakness, sweating, weight loss. The share of this disease accounts for 4% of all oncological diseases.
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a cancer of muscle tissue. Among sarcomas of soft tissues, this species is the most common. It makes up 3% of the total number of cancers in children.
Retinoblastoma is an eye cancer. It occurs in children under the age of 2 years. The disease can be detected by parents or an ophthalmologist due to one distinctive feature of the manifestation of the disease. A healthy pupil is highlighted in red when illuminated. In this disease, the pupil is cloudy, white or pink. Parents can see the “defect” in the photo. This ailment accounts for 3%.
Bone cancer is a malignant tumor of the bones, osteosarcoma or Ewing's sarcoma. This disease affects persons aged 15 to 19 years.
Osteosarcoma affects joints in places where bone tissue grows fastest. Symptoms are manifested in joint pain, aggravating at night or during moments of active movement, a tumor at the site of the lesion.
Ewing's sarcoma, unlike osteosarcoma, is less common, affects the bones of the pelvis, chest, lower extremities. Osteosarcoma accounts for 3%, and Ewing's sarcoma - 1% of all childhood diseases.
Lung cancer in children is a type of oncology that is quite rare. The cause of this disease is often the parents - heavy smokers. Passive smoking is one of the causes of the ailment. Also, lung cancer can trigger maternal smoking during pregnancy and lactation. Symptoms of the disease are very similar to signs of bronchitis, asthma, allergies, pneumonia. Because of this, cancer is detected in advanced form. Parents and the doctor should be alert for symptoms such as:
- loss of appetite;
- fast fatiguability;
- frequent coughing or severe cough with sputum;
- severe headaches;
- swelling in the neck, face;
- shortness of breath.
Families in which cancer has occurred need to be on their guard, not to miss the initial manifestations of the disease. Early diagnosis of any ailment is the key to successful treatment.
Methods of treating cancer in children
Cancer treatment in adolescents and babies occurs in special clinics and pediatric cancer centers. The type of disease and stage of the disease mainly affects the choice of method. Treatment may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy. In some cases, surgery is used. The most commonly used combination treatment.
A feature of childhood cancer is its rapid development along with a growing body. At the same time, this is his weak point. Most chemotherapy drugs affect fast-growing cancer cells. Unlike an adult, a child’s body recovers faster and better after chemotherapy. This makes it possible to use intensive methods of treatment, but there is a high probability of side effects. Therefore, the oncologist must compare the need of the sick child and the maximum dose, at the same time - as sparing as possible, which will minimize the impact of negative consequences.
In second place in application - radiation therapy. Radiotherapy is used in combination with surgery or chemotherapy. With the help of directed radiation, doctors achieve a reduction in the size of the tumor. This facilitates its subsequent removal. Sometimes they use only radiation therapy, without subsequent surgery.
New methods are widely used. Less traumatic surgical interventions, such as selective blockage of the blood vessels (embolization) that feed the tumor. This leads to a significant decrease. Other methods are also used:
- cryotherapy;
- hyperthermia;
- laser therapy.
In some cases, stem cell therapy is used . As well as blood therapy.
Children's Center and Institute. P. A. Herzen
Institute of Oncology P. A. Herzen is one of the oldest centers in Russia for the diagnosis and treatment of cancerous tumors. It was founded in 1903. Currently, this oncology institute is one of the largest state institutions of this profile. He is also widely known at home and abroad.
The Children's Oncology Center, organized at the institute, is successfully treating cancer. The institution, equipped with the latest technology, uses advanced technology to combat this difficult ailment.
At the Institute of Oncology. Herzen developed a methodology for the combined treatment of cancer, a method for individually predicting the response of cancerous tumors to therapy, work is underway to create the latest special drugs. Organ-preserving, functionally sparing operations are widely used. This can significantly increase the life expectancy of cancer patients.
In the center you can undergo a comprehensive diagnostic examination, get expert advice. If necessary, highly qualified treatment of malignant tumors will be carried out using modern techniques and the latest equipment.
Little conclusion
Now you know the reasons why a disease such as cancer can occur in children. As you can see, there are a lot of them. We also examined the symptoms of such ailments. In addition, the article describes methods for their treatment. The main thing to cure a child is to conduct an early diagnosis, to choose the right treatment.