Key Statistics for Childhood Cancers
About 11,050 children in the United States under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer in 2020. Overall, this accounts for less than 1% of all cancers. Childhood cancer rates have been rising slightly for the past few decades.
Because of major treatment advances in recent decades, 84% 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 can vary a great deal 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 1,190 children under the age of 15 are expected to die from cancer in 2020.
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.
American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2020. American Cancer Society. Atlanta, Ga. 2020.
Last Medical Review: October 14, 2019 Last Revised: January 8, 2020
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