Childhood cancer is rare compared to adult cancer, but it is not as uncommon as many parents assume. In the United States, an estimated 14,910 children and adolescents ages 0 to 19 were expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2024. That breaks down to roughly 9,620 children under 15 and 5,290 teenagers between 15 and 19. About 1 in 285 children will be diagnosed with cancer before their 20th birthday.
How the Numbers Break Down by Age
Cancer can appear at any point in childhood, but the risk is not evenly spread. Infants and very young children face the highest rates of certain cancers, particularly leukemia and a tumor of the nervous system called neuroblastoma. Rates dip in middle childhood, then rise again in adolescence as different cancer types become more common. Teenagers are more likely to develop lymphomas, bone cancers, and thyroid cancers than younger children are.
Overall, childhood cancers account for less than 1% of all new cancer diagnoses in the U.S. each year. For context, roughly 2 million adults are diagnosed annually. But cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease among children past infancy, which is why the numbers carry weight despite being statistically small.
The Most Common Types
Childhood cancers look very different from adult cancers. The cancers most people think of first, like breast, lung, and colon cancer, are virtually nonexistent in children. Instead, the most common types in kids under 15 are leukemias (cancers of the blood and bone marrow), brain and spinal cord tumors, and neuroblastoma, a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells. Together, leukemias and brain tumors account for more than half of all cancers in younger children.
In adolescents, the picture shifts. Lymphomas (cancers of the immune system), bone cancers like osteosarcoma, and thyroid cancer become more prominent. This age-related pattern is one reason childhood cancer is treated as a distinct field from adult oncology: the biology, the tumor types, and the treatment approaches are fundamentally different.
Survival Rates Have Improved Dramatically
In the 1970s, a childhood cancer diagnosis was often fatal. The overall five-year survival rate was below 60%. Today, that figure has climbed to roughly 85% for children under 15, thanks to decades of advances in chemotherapy combinations, radiation targeting, and supportive care. Some cancers that were once nearly untreatable now have survival rates above 90%.
The gains have not been equal across all cancer types, though. Certain brain tumors and metastatic cancers still carry much lower survival rates. And survival comes with a cost: two-thirds of childhood cancer survivors experience at least one chronic health condition later in life as a result of their treatment, ranging from heart problems to secondary cancers to fertility issues.
Global Survival Varies Widely
Where a child lives dramatically affects their chances. In high-income countries, the majority of children with cancer survive. In low- and middle-income countries, outcomes are far worse. Three-year survival rates for leukemia, the most common childhood cancer, range from just above 30% in Kenya to nearly 90% in Puerto Rico. The gap is driven by delayed diagnosis, limited access to treatment, drug shortages, and higher rates of treatment abandonment when families cannot afford ongoing care.
An estimated 400,000 children develop cancer worldwide each year. In many lower-income countries, a significant number of cases are never formally diagnosed or recorded, meaning the true global burden is likely higher than official statistics suggest.
Why Childhood Cancer Is Hard to Catch Early
Unlike some adult cancers, there are no routine screening tests for childhood cancer. Most cases are discovered when a child develops symptoms that prompt a visit to the doctor. The challenge is that early symptoms often mimic ordinary childhood illnesses. A persistent fever, unusual tiredness, unexplained weight loss, or frequent infections can all signal cancer, but they are far more likely to be caused by common infections.
Other warning signs are more specific. A lump or mass in the abdomen, neck, chest, or armpits warrants attention, as does persistent bone or joint pain that doesn’t improve. Headaches paired with early-morning vomiting can indicate a brain tumor. Excessive bruising or bleeding, sudden vision changes, and a whitish glow behind the pupil of the eye are also red flags. None of these symptoms mean cancer is likely, but they do mean a thorough evaluation is reasonable, especially when symptoms persist for more than a couple of weeks or worsen over time.
Are Rates Increasing?
Childhood cancer incidence has been rising slowly for several decades, at a rate of roughly 0.5% to 1% per year. Researchers debate how much of this reflects a true increase versus better detection and more complete cancer registries. Improved imaging technology, for instance, catches tumors that might have gone undetected in earlier eras. At the same time, some environmental and genetic factors may be contributing to a genuine uptick. The increase is modest on a year-to-year basis, but it is consistent enough to be considered real rather than a statistical artifact.
Despite rising incidence, death rates have continued to fall. More children are being diagnosed, but more of them are surviving, which speaks to the steady improvement in treatment over the past several decades.