Scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) are engaged in the World Health Organization’s Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC) through the IARC GICC Team and the numerous projects led by IARC researchers focused on understanding and reducing the global burden of childhood cancer.
The term “childhood cancer” refers to a wide range of cancer types that develop mainly in people younger than 20 years. These cancer types are different from the cancers that are most often detected in adults. Leukaemias, lymphomas, and central nervous system tumours are the most common cancer types in children. The proportion of different cancer types changes with each year of age as children get older, and the overall incidence shows two separate peaks, at ages 0–4 years and 15–19 years.
Some environmental factors, such as radiation, are known to increase the risk of cancer in children, but the causes of most childhood cancers are still unknown. More research is crucial to improve the understanding of how and why cancer develops in children. IARC researchers contribute to this in many ways, such as by examining the epigenetic profiles of children with cancer, investigating substances in the environment, assessing lifestyle factors that may influence the development of childhood cancer, and standardizing the classification of childhood cancer to better diagnose and treat these diseases.
IARC’s role as a global hub and its mandate to coordinate large international research projects are essential to further the understanding of childhood cancer. Childhood cancer remains relatively rare. Therefore, data collected at the national or regional level are often inadequate for drawing significant conclusions from the observed patterns. By linking research institutions and by leading international cooperation, IARC stimulates sharing of data that are vital for discoveries of meaningful clues about causes of childhood cancers.
Visit the IARC GICC Team webpage
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