St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Memphis, United States
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Childhood cancers
Childhood cancers are cancers found in children; the most common are leukaemias, brain and spinal cord tumours, and lymphomas.
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What are childhood cancers?
Childhood cancers are cancers diagnosed in children. In children up to the age of 14, the most common types are leukaemias, tumours of the brain and spinal cord, and lymphomas. As in adults, they are thought to begin with changes in genes that make cells grow out of control. For most childhood cancers the cause is not known. About 8 to 10 in every 100 are caused by gene changes passed on from a parent.
How are they treated today?
Treatment depends on the type of cancer and how advanced it is. Common options are surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and stem cell transplant. Children are not always treated in the same way as adults: a growing body reacts differently to treatment, and children may receive more intensive treatment. Many children are cared for at children's cancer centres, where specialist teams work together and clinical trials are often available.
How have outcomes changed?
Effective treatments now exist for many childhood cancers. In the US, the cancer death rate in children up to the age of 14 fell by 70 percent between 1970 and 2020. Most of the progress towards treatments that cure has come from clinical trials. Even so, cancer is still the leading disease-related cause of death in children.
Machine summary of published research · sources and dates below · 2026-11-06
Written from: NCI: Childhood Cancers (2025-04-24) · read on 2026-11-06
- Cure
- Treatable, not yet curableSource: WHOWhat these labels meanCurable in many cases – treatment can remove the disease completely for many patients.Treatable, not yet curable – treatment can slow the disease and extend life, but it cannot remove it completely yet.This pageNo cure yet – there is no treatment yet that stops the disease; care focuses on symptoms.
- Standard treatment
- Varies by type: chemo, surgery, radiotherapySource: WHO
Cure status
- [177Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATEPhase 3 · NCT06784752
- 2 doses of theRecombinant Human Papillomavirus Nonavalent (Types 6,11,16,18,31,33,45,52,58 )Vaccine(E.Coli)Phase 3 · NCT05056402
- 2 doses of vaccine Quadrivalent Recombinant Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (Hansenulapolymorpha)Phase 3 · NCT06632912
- 2.5% Lys-Arg sterile amino acid solutionPhase 3 · NCT03972488
- 3 cycles chemotherapyPhase 3 · NCT05080010
- 3 doses of the Recombinant Human Papillomavirus Nonavalent (Types 6,11,16,18,31,33,45,52,58 )Vaccine(E.Coli)Phase 3 · NCT05056402
- 3 doses of vaccine Quadrivalent Recombinant Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (Hansenulapolymorpha)Phase 3 · NCT06632912
- 30 mg Octreotide long acting repeatable (LAR) (Sandostatin LAR Depot)Phase 3 · NCT03972488
- 4 chemotherapy blocks: Course 1 AIE (cytarabine/idarubicin/etoposide), Course 2 AI (cytarabine/idarubicin), Course 3 HAD (high-dose cytarabine (1g)/daunorubicin), Course 4 HA (high-dose cytarabine).Phase 3 · NCT07232134
- 5-FUPhase 3 · NCT04607421
- 5FluorouracilPhase 3 · NCT03017326
- 6-MercaptopurinePhase 3 · NCT06533748 · NCT05660473 · NCT03286634 · NCT04043494 · NCT03643276
- 6-mercaptopurine,MethotrexatePhase 3 · NCT02845882
- 6-tioguanine+Standard Maintenance TherapyPhase 3 · NCT04307576
- 90yttrium colloidPhase 3 · NCT02081768
- AbirateronePhase 3 · NCT00268476 · NCT07620574
- ABVD regimenPhase 3 · NCT00005584
- ACE InhibitorsPhase 3 · NCT06853951
- Additional doses of RituximabPhase 3 · NCT03206671
- Adjuvant nivolumabPhase 3 · NCT04949113
- AfatinibPhase 3 · NCT06759857
- all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)Phase 3 · NCT07296445
- antibiotic prophylaxisPhase 3 · NCT07754682
- ApixabanPhase 3 · NCT07160686
- Arsenic TrioxidePhase 3 · NCT02339740 · NCT03503864 · NCT06933394 · NCT06088030 · NCT03031249 · NCT04793919 · NCT01409161
- AsparaginasePhase 3 · NCT02521493 · NCT02101853 · NCT03817320
- Asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemiPhase 3 · NCT07133997 · NCT02521493 · NCT02553460 · NCT04293562 · NCT03914625 · NCT06317662 · NCT02981628 · NCT04546399
- AspirinPhase 3 · NCT02804815
- AtezolizumabPhase 3 · NCT03799835 · NCT04458922 · NCT05286801 · NCT05862285 · NCT03141684 · NCT04796012 · NCT04981509 · NCT05722886 · NCT05019703 · NCT03148418 · NCT07620574 · NCT02912559 · NCT04589845 · NCT05333458 · NCT05468359 · NCT06492954 · NCT04817956 · NCT05770102
- AzacitidinePhase 3 · NCT07754799 · NCT06177067 · NCT03628209 · NCT04588922 · NCT06757855 · NCT05849662 · NCT05955261 · NCT03383575 · NCT06397027 · NCT07012447 · NCT07770698 · NCT05183035 · NCT06635681 · NCT03164057 · NCT05292664 · NCT05476770 · NCT05201066 · NCT07539818
Closest to patients
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Web-based Platform for Cancer Pain ManagementPhase 3 trial: Childhood cancersWest China Hospital, Sichuan Universit · Chengdu, ChinaPhase 3Results expected 2026
- High-Risk Neuroblastoma Study 2 of SIOP-Europa-Neuroblastoma (SIOPEN)Phase 3 trial: Vincristine, Carboplatin, EtoposideUniversitair Medisch Centrum Groningen · Groningen, Netherlands + 207 more hospitalsPhase 3Results expected 2026
- Short Course Vaginal Cuff Brachytherapy in Treating Participants With Stage I-II Endometrial CancerPhase 3 trial: Vaginal Cuff Brachytherapy, Short course vaginal cuff brachytherapyMD Anderson · Houston, United States + 4 more hospitalsPhase 3Results expected 2026
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If you are looking for a relative
Here you will find questions you can ask, help with difficult talks, organisations for carers and your relative's rights.
Questions for your relative's doctor
How do I talk to them about this?
You do not need the right words. Ask what your relative wants to know, and let them set the pace. These pages can help.
Support for you as a carer
Looking after someone is work too. These organisations help carers, and the list further down this page shows helplines by country.
- Eurocarers: carers' organisations in Europe
- National Cancer Institute (US): support for caregivers
- NHS (UK): support and benefits for carers
Power of attorney and patient rights, by country
A doctor can share information and a relative can act only with the patient's consent or a legal authority. It is easier to arrange this early.
- Hungary: patient rights representatives (Integrált Jogvédelmi Szolgálat)
- Germany: power of attorney and care directives (Federal Ministry of Justice)
- Austria: adult protection and representation (Ministry of Justice)
- United Kingdom: lasting power of attorney (GOV.UK)
- EU: your rights to healthcare in another EU country (Your Europe)
If you are looking for your child
Children are often treated differently from adults, in specialist centres. Here is where to start.
Childhood cancer centres and parents' organisations
These European networks connect paediatric cancer centres and families.
- ERN PaedCan: European network of paediatric cancer centres
- SIOP Europe: European society for paediatric oncology
- CCI Europe: parents' and survivors' organisations
- National Cancer Institute (US): support for parents
Before you pay
Parents often receive offers of paid treatment. Please go through this list before you pay for anything.
For patient organisations
You can share or print these pages for your members. They are free and need no account.
Apply for experimental treatment or a research study
The trial team decides who can take part; your doctor can help you ask.
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Latest news
Results, new trials and publications, newest first. Every item links to its source.
Results and new studies, newest first, in plain words.
Plain-language summary pending. Original title shown.
New and changed trials of the last 30 days, without an account and without tracking.
RSS feedCalendar reminderCase report
Persistent cerebrospinal fluid tumor cells during transient radiographic response in bilateral retinoblastoma with central nervous system involvement: a pediatric case report.
Persistent cerebrospinal fluid tumor cells during transient radiographic response in bilateral retinoblastoma with central nervous system involvement: a pediatric case report.
Translational pediatrics
PubMed · PMID 42996412
Tools for your next step
Questions for your doctor
Pick up to 5 questions for your situation, then print them or take them on your phone.
Choose questionsIf the treatment is not working
If the treatment has stopped working, or you were told there are no more options, here is what you can ask and where you can look next.
Do not stop or put off treatment without talking to your doctor.
Trials for people who have already been treated
Many trials look specifically for people who have already had treatment. Registries mark these with words like "previously treated", "refractory" or "relapsed". The trial team decides who can take part.
What a phase 1 trial is for
A phase 1 trial mainly tests whether a new medicine is safe and which dose can be given. It is not built to show that the medicine works.
In cancer, older figures show that fewer than 1 in 20 people in a phase 1 trial respond. Many people expect far more, so ask openly: what can I expect, and what will it mean for my daily life?
Compassionate use
Some medicines not yet approved can be given outside a trial when there is no other option. This does not exist for every medicine or in every country. Your doctor makes the request, and the authority or the manufacturer decides.
- EU: European Medicines Agency
- Hungary: OGYÉI
- Germany: BfArM
- Austria: BASG
- United Kingdom: Early Access to Medicines (MHRA)
A second opinion
Asking for a second opinion is normal and does not mean you distrust your doctor. Take your results and a list of your treatments with you. For rare diseases, your doctor can also ask a European Reference Network.
Palliative care
This is care for symptoms and quality of life, and you can have it alongside cancer treatment. It does not mean anyone has given up on you. In a randomised trial in advanced lung cancer, palliative care from early on improved quality of life.
- Temel et al., NEJM 2010 (PubMed)
- World Health Organization: palliative care
- National Cancer Institute (US): palliative care
Before you pay
In this situation many people receive offers of paid treatment. Go through this list before you pay for anything.
If this feels too heavy right now
You can talk to someone. In Hungary and in the UK, 116 123 is a free line for emotional support, day and night. The list on this page shows helplines in other countries.
Not medical advice. Talk to your care team before you change anything in your treatment.
Organisations that can help
Helplines, patient groups and support services for you and your family.
Select your country to see the organisations there, starting with the ones closest to you.
Umbrella organisations (they connect national groups)
Childhood Cancer International (CCI)
Global network of parent and survivor organisations: member directory to find a national group, survivor network and knowledge portal.
Visit site: Childhood Cancer International (CCI)
Childhood Cancer International Europe (CCI Europe)
Network of parent and survivor organisations in 38 countries, with a map to find your national group.
Visit site: Childhood Cancer International Europe (CCI Europe)
ERN PaedCan – ERN for paediatric oncology
European network of paediatric cancer centres with virtual tumour boards and a section for patients and families.
Visit site: ERN PaedCan – ERN for paediatric oncologyEuropean Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC)
Umbrella of European cancer patient groups, with a patient toolbox and a legal network for cancer patients.
Visit site: European Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC)
European Reference Networks (European Commission)
The European Commission's 24 expert networks for rare and complex diseases; your doctor can contact them.
Visit site: European Reference Networks (European Commission)
EURORDIS – Rare Diseases Europe
Alliance of over 1,000 rare disease patient organisations, with a list of rare disease helplines by country.
Visit site: EURORDIS – Rare Diseases Europe
Youth Cancer Europe (YCE)
Patient-led network of young people (adolescents and young adults) affected by cancer: peer community, help finding local support, and advocacy.
Visit site: Youth Cancer Europe (YCE)
General support
For anyone who is ill, whatever the disease: patients' rights and legal aid, crisis lines, hospice and palliative care, care in another EU country, and patient organisations' umbrella bodies.
International
European Patients' Forum (EPF)
Umbrella of European patient organisations and national patient coalitions.
Visit site: European Patients' Forum (EPF)
International Alliance of Patients' Organizations
Global alliance of patient organisations of all diseases, promoting patient-centred healthcare.
Visit site: International Alliance of Patients' Organizations
Frontlight is not affiliated with these organisations; we list them because they help.
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Find fellow researchers
Groups with active Childhood cancers work.
Hospital for Sick Children
Toronto, Canada
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Harvard University
Cambridge, United States
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Princess Máxima Center
Utrecht, Netherlands
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Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, United States
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Emory University
Atlanta, United States
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University of Toronto
Toronto, Canada
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Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, United States
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University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, United States
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University of Washington
Seattle, United States
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Stanford University
Stanford, United States
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Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, United States
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