Cancer in children
In Hong Kong, about 150 children develop cancer each year. The incidence of
childhood cancer is about 10 per 100,000 children. The common types of cancer
in children are acute leukaemia, brain tumour, lymphoma, neuroblastoma and Wilms'
tumour, whereas the common adult cancers, such as cancer of the stomach, breast
and lung cancer are rarely found in children.
When cells in the human body develop cancerous change, they multiply at an abnormal
rate. As these abnormal cells increase in number, they destroy the normal tissues
and a cancer is formed. The cause of most cancers is unknown. Only a few childhood
cancers are hereditary, congenital or associated with infection. For example,
liver cancer is strongly related to previous hepatitis B infection.