World Childhood Cancer Awareness Day: Notice The Red Flags Before Its Too Late

On the occasion of World Childhood Cancer Day, know why there is a need to highlight the importance of early intervention and timely treatment of pediatric cancers.

International childhood cancer day is observed every year on February 15 to raise awareness about the danger and impact of the deadly disease that affects millions of kids every year. More than 4 lakh children and adolescents under the age of 20 are diagnosed with cancer every year. While the chances of survival for such patients in high-income nations are close to 80 per cent, the rate of survival for similar patients in low-income countries is as low as 20 per cent. Due to the lack of awareness, people are not aware of how prominent the condition is among kids and why it needs immediate attention.

Childhood Cancer On The Rise In India

Cancer in the pediatric age group contributes to around 5 per cent of the total cancer burden in India. Most of the childhood cancers have a male preponderance and according to the latest survey, the Delhi-NCR region has reported the highest incidence of childhood cancers among boys in India. Cancer forms the 9th most common cause of mortality among children between 5 to 14 years of age in India. However, in the last few years, significant progress has been seen in pediatric cancer therapy in India and their five-year survival rate is 75-79 per cent in children treated in tertiary care institutes where they are managed by well-trained pediatric oncologists.

"There are more than 10 types of cancers which can be seen in children. Some of the common childhood cancers are acute leukaemia, brain tumour, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, Wilm's tumour, retinoblastoma and soft tissue sarcomas. Among these, the most common pediatric cancer is acute leukaemia (blood cancer) which constitutes more than one-third of all pediatric malignancies. Acute leukaemia is of 2 types: acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Of the two, ALL is around three times more common than AML," said Dr Vikas Dua, Director, Pediatric Hematology & Oncology, Fortis Hospital, Gurugram.

Notice The Red Flags Before Its Too Late

Having high cures in pediatric cancer cases, Dr Vikas Dua also emphasized that parents need to be aware of the red flag signs in their kids and the advanced treatment modalities available to treat such cancers.

It is extremely important that these children are treated by a pediatric hemato-oncologist since the physiology of a child and response to chemotherapy drugs is very different from adults and is best understood by a pediatric specialist. Most of the patients of ALL respond well to chemotherapy. However, around 5-10 per cent of cases are high risk, and these can be successfully managed with a bone marrow transplant.

"Some of the red flag signs which warrant urgent referral of the child to a pediatric hemato-oncologist by the family physician or paediatrician are low haemoglobin, low or high white blood cell count and low platelet count since these findings are not always explained by nutritional factors and infections. Parents should also consider seeing a pediatric hemato-oncologist if their child has a recurrent unexplained fever, lethargy, bleeding manifestations, bony pains and neck swellings," he added.