UPDATE: Fighting Glioblastoma - click for news from Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center
BRAIN CANCER IN CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS
While the overall incidence of cancer in the United States has been decreasing in recent years, the incidence of cancer among children is increasing at the rate of about 1% per year. One in 330 persons born in the U.S. will develop cancer by the age of 19. Each year, 11,000 children in the U.S. are newly diagnosed with cancer.
Cancer is the #1 disease killer of children in the U.S. Although great progress has been made in recent years in treating childhood cancer, still some forms, including brain cancer have proven to be resistant. Malignant brain tumors, such as glioblastoma multiforme, are now the second largest cause of cancer deaths among children up to 15 years old and of young adults aged 15 to 34. In the U.S. in 2015, 22,850 estimated new cases of primary brain tumor will be diagnosed in persons of all ages. More than 4,600 children between the ages of 0-19 will be diagnosed with a brain tumor this year. Brain and central nervous system tumors are the most common cancers among children ages 0-19. This year, nearly 14,000 people will lose their battle with a brain tumor.
Available treatments for children with malignant brain tumors can cause horrific side effects. The current situation is unacceptable. We must do more. To find out how you can help, investigate some of the links we have provided.
American Brain Tumor Association - ABTA
National Institute of Health - National Cancer Institute
