Key Statistics for Childhood Cancers
Childhood cancers make up less than 1% of all cancers diagnosed each year. About 10,590 children in the United States under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer in 2018. Childhood cancer rates have been rising slightly for the past few decades.
Because of major treatment advances in recent decades, more than 80% of children with cancer now survive 5 years or more. Overall, this is a huge increase since the mid-1970s, when the 5-year survival rate was about 58%. Still, survival rates vary depending on the type of cancer and other factors. The survival rates for a specific type of childhood cancer can be found in our information for that cancer type.
After accidents, cancer is the second leading cause of death in children ages 1 to 14 . About 1,180 children younger than 15 years old are expected to die from cancer in 2018.
American Cancer Society. Facts & Figures 2018. American Cancer Society. Atlanta, Ga. 2018.
Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, Miller D, Bishop K, Kosary CL, Yu M, Ruhl J, Tatalovich Z, Mariotto A, Lewis DR, Chen HS, Feuer EJ, Cronin KA (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2014, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2014/, based on November 2016 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER web site, April 2017.
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Last Medical Review: August 22, 2016 Last Revised: September 10, 2018
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