How Do Childhood Cancer and Adult Cancer Differ?
As we hear the term "cancer," we often relate it to diseases among adults. However, there are also cancers among children, which differ greatly from adult cancers.
The first distinction between cancer among children and adults lies in their development.
Most of the time, adult cancers have something to do with prolonged exposure to cigarette smoking, ultraviolet radiation, chemical substances, or some other environmental factors, which lead to cell changes.
The causes of childhood cancers are not associated with any of the risk factors related to lifestyle and environment. Childhood cancers often result from some changes in the cells of children's bodies that take place during their development.
This is yet another reason why studying childhood cancer is crucial for science. It is impossible to use the findings of studies on adult cancer patients to understand the processes going on in children with cancer.
Different Cancers Have Different Biology
It is worth noting that the cancers commonly detected in childhood are different from those of adult life.
Leukemia, brain and spinal cord tumors, neuroblastoma, lymphoma, kidney, and bone tumors are among the types of cancer that can be found in children. Some of them are rarely found in adults.
When both children and adults have tumors in the same location, it does not mean that they are the same from the biological point of view.
The Developing Body Creates Another Issue
The children are still in their developmental stages.
Their brains, bones, organs, immune system, and many other components of their bodies are still in the process of developing. In such a way, doctors should not only worry about curing the patient but also keep in mind how the treatment will affect the patient in his or her future life. Chemotherapy, radiation, surgeries, and any other methods can save lives, but they can have some negative consequences. That is why scientists try to create drugs that kill cancer cells but do not hurt developing cells.
Research Must Look Far Beyond Survival
Over many decades, much research has been done to help improve the survival rates of children suffering from different types of cancers. However, the issue of survival has not been the only one to be addressed by researchers.
Today, researchers are becoming more concerned about what happens after treatment.
Are patients able to develop and grow normally? How can the negative effects of treatment be limited? Can there be a reduction of toxicity without reducing the efficacy of treatment?
All these questions become relevant due to the fact that cancer survivors are still likely to live many years.
Why Pediatric Cancer Research Matters
Since childhood cancers are rare conditions, researchers face certain difficulties when studying them. There might be fewer patients who can participate in clinical trials, and some particular childhood cancers are exceedingly rare.
That is why it is particularly important to conduct further research in this field.
Scientists are conducting genetic research on childhood tumors, working on targeted therapy, developing immunotherapy, and trying to find new ways to diagnose and treat cancer.
Each new finding brings us one step closer to understanding these complex diseases.
Looking Towards the Future
The research conducted into childhood cancer has already made a difference in many lives, but there is still so much we have yet to learn about this disease.
A new development in pediatric oncology could take the form of a deeper understanding of the genetic structure of cancer, a new drug, a new type of clinical trial, or even something totally unforeseen at this moment.
This is the reason why funding of pediatric oncology research is important.
Children deserve treatments developed especially for them and their unique physiology and potential future life.
Childhood cancer is unique, and so is the way we should deal with it.
Thank you for reading!
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