Comprehensive cancer control program (CCCP)

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California's Cancer Burden

Cancer Disparities: Childhood Cancer

Across California, among children zero to 19 years of age, overall cancer incidence rates decreased an average of 0.7 percent per year from 2013 to 2022. Of the childhood cancers, the AAPC in the AAIR for central nervous system (CNS) tumors and retinoblastomas decreased significantly by six percent and 5.9 percent per year, respectively. Among adolescents and young adults (AYA), 15 to 39 years of age, overall cancer incidence rates increased an average of 0.6 percent per year from 2013 to 2022.

This table presents the incidence rates and counts of International Classification for Childhood Cancer (ICCC) groups among children zero to 19 years of age. In the last decade close to 1,800 children and young adults under the age of 20 were diagnosed with cancer each year. Among these, 67 percent are between zero to 14 years of age. The top three most common types of cancer diagnosed in children under the age of one are leukemias, followed by neuroblastoma, and CNS tumors. Leukemia is the most diagnosed cancer among children between one and 14 years of age, followed by CNS tumors, and lymphomas. Among children and young adults between 15 and 19 years of age, the top three most diagnosed cancers are other malignant epithelial neoplasms and melanomas, followed by lymphomas, and leukemias.

(Table 5: Childhood Cancer Rates by ICCC group)

Childhood Cancer Data Table

Table 5. Incidence Rates and Counts of ICCC Cancer Groups Among 0-19 Year Olds, California, 1988-2022
	<1 year		1-14 years		15-19 years
Cancer ICCC Group*	Rate	Count	Rate	Count	Rate	Count
All Cancer Types	216.3	181	153.1	2,040	252.8	1,289
I. Leukemias, myeloproliferative & myelodysplastic diseases	47.9	847	56.6	14,027	36.6	3,156
Lymphoid leukemias	20.6	365	46.0	11,411	21.1	1,822
Acute myeloid leukemias	18.0	319	7.6	1,878	9.5	824
II. Lymphomas and reticuloendothelial neoplasms	13.4	237	17.9	4,346	45.5	3,932
Hodgkin lymphomas	^	^	5.8	1,408	27.6	2,383
Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (except Burkitt lymphoma)	1.6	28	7.1	1,715	14.7	1,265
III. CNS and misc. intracranial and intraspinal neoplasms	28.9	511	28.4	6,973	18.4	1,587
Ependymomas and choroid plexus tumor	4.5	79	2.6	650	1.4	119
Astrocytomas	10.2	180	13.9	3,417	10.5	904
Intracranial and intraspinal embryonal tumors	10.3	183	6.7	1,655	2.7	237
Other gliomas	2.8	49	4.4	1,065	3.0	258
IV. Neuroblastoma and other peripheral nervous cell tumors	43.8	774	6.6	1,674	0.8	70
V. Retinoblastoma	25.8	456	2.8	703	^	^
VI. Renal tumors	13.9	245	7.0	1,766	1.3	114
VII. Hepatic tumors	11.9	211	2.0	515	1.3	112
VIII. Malignant bone tumors	0.8	15	7.4	1,793	14.5	1,251
Osteosarcomas	^	^	4.5	1,087	8.8	760
Ewing tumor and related sarcomas of bone	^	^	2.3	559	3.8	332
IX. Soft tissue and other extraosseous sarcomas	15.1	267	9.7	2,375	16.8	1,448
Rhabdomyosarcomas	4.8	85	4.8	1,195	3.5	306
Fibrosarcomas, peripheral nerve & other fibrous	4.0	70	0.7	167	2.1	183
X. Germ cell & trophoblastic tumors & neoplasms of gonads	20.0	354	5.4	1,312	33.0	2,847
Extracranial & extragonadal germ cell tumors	12.8	227	0.6	146	2.3	200
Malignant gonadal germ cell tumors	4.8	85	2.8	676	25.6	2,212
XI. Other malignant epithelial neoplasms and melanomas	1.6	29	7.3	1,768	47.2	4,078
XII. Other and unspecified malignant neoplasms	1.5	26	0.4	98	1.1	92
Rates are per 1,000,000 and age-adjusted to the 2000 US Std Population (19 age groups - Census P25-1130) standard. * International Classification of Childhood Cancer (http://seer.cancer.gov/iccc/iccc-who2008.html). Number Count suppressed due to fewer than five cases. ^ Statistic not displayed due to fewer than 11 cases. Data Source: California Cancer Registry, California Department of Public Health.