Every year, 50,000 cases of cancer are reported in children; timely treatment can save lives.:

News Topical, Digital Desk : Be alert if children experience prolonged fever or weight loss. This is often mistaken for typhoid. However, it could also be a sign of cancer.

Apart from this, weakness, body pain, weakening of bones, paleness of the body, white glare in the eyes, and squinting are also signs of cancer. Cancer occurs in people of all ages, including children. However, its cause is not yet clear.

More than 50,000 new cases every year

According to the Indian Cancer Society, more than 50,000 new cases of childhood cancer are diagnosed in the country each year. If detected early and treated effectively, it is curable. The Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre (RGCIRC) in Delhi alone sees 15,000 to 20,000 cases of childhood cancer annually, with a recovery rate of 50 to 60 percent. Of the more than 400 patients who visit AIIMS annually, up to 65 percent are completely cured.

According to a report published in Indian Pediatrics, North India has the highest incidence of childhood cancer. Data from 33 population-based cancer registries across the country, from 2012 to 2016, showed an average of 156 boys and 97 girls per 1 million population in North India.

In South India, these figures were 122 and 92, respectively. Northeast India, on the other hand, had the lowest childhood cancer rates, with 47 boys and 33 girls diagnosed with cancer per million population. According to the 2023 report, a total of 430,091 cancer cases were reported in the country between 2012 and 2016. Of these, 215,726 were men (50.2 percent) and 214,365 were women (49.8 percent). The cancer rate for men was 105.5 per 100,000 population and 104.5 for women. Of the total cancer cases, 8,692 (2 percent) were pediatric cancers. Of these, 5,365 were boys (61.7 percent) and 3,327 were girls (38.3 percent).

The health of the children who recover will be studied

Leukemia, lymphoma, and central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the most common cases in children. Neuroblastoma, Wilms' tumor, soft tissue sarcoma, bone cancer, and retinoblastoma are also being reported. AIIMS launched a cancer survivor registry in 2016, which has now seen over 2,000 children join. Future studies of cancer survivors registered in the registry will help determine how long children remain healthy.

Increase survival rate by 60 percent per year

In 2018, WHO and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in the US launched the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC). Its goal is to increase the global survival rate for children with cancer to 60 percent by 2030.

Dr. Kapil Goyal (Cancer Specialist, RGC IRC, Delhi) explains that children's bodies are still developing. Because of this, cancer treatment has a better impact on children. With timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment, cancer can be completely cured. Consequently, the risk of recurrence of cancer in children is negligible.