AMMAN— September is Childhood Cancer Awareness
Month across the globe, the aim of which is to promote awareness of childhood
cancers and how to care for patients and improve their survival rates.
اضافة اعلان
Cancer in children is rare, however, overall instances of
cancer in children has been rising since 1975. Internationally, childhood
cancers are one of the leading disease-related causes of death in children, especially
in children aged five to 14.
The three most common types of cancers in children in Jordan
are: Leukemia, which makes up around 25 percent of all cases; brain cancer and
cancer of the central nervous system, which make up around 20 percent of all
cases; and lymphomas, which make up around 17 percent of all cases. The overall
incidence rate for cancers was 89 per million for those under 14 years old in 2015.
What is cancer?
Cancer is a disease caused when normal cells in the body
begin to grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body. Such cells
can form visible lumps made up of groups of cancerous cells or tumors. Some
lumps are visible on the skin, like moles.
Moles, also known as nevi, are often small dark protrusions
found on the skin. Nevi form as a result of melanocytes growing abnormally. Melanocytes
are the cells responsible for pigmentation of the skin.
By definition a nevus is benign, meaning it does not spread
and invade other parts of the body or skin and is therefore not cancerous. Although,
benign tumors such as nevi have the potential to become cancerous or malignant.
Twenty-five percent of malignant melanomas or skin cancer
are often dangerous and arise from preexisting nevi. The difference between
cancers and tumors is that tumors are simply an abnormal growth of cells,
whereas cancer is uncontrolled cell growth that results in the growth spreading
and invading other parts of the body.
What makes cancer especially dangerous how rapidly a
malignancy can spread. Cancer places a high demand on the body, in particular
in areas to which is spreads. Due to rapid and uncontrolled growth, cancers will
have their own blood supply to absorb copious amounts of oxygen and nutrients,
all at the expense of neighboring healthy cells.
Ultimately cancers cause the death of healthy normal cells
in the body that helps the spread of cancerous cells. Cancerous cells do not
have the same biological function as none cancerous healthy ones. If the part
of the body invaded by these cells is of vital importance, like the lungs or
brain, it can have detrimental effects on the individual and can be
life-threatening.
Furthermore, cancer has the potential to spread to other
parts of the body in a process called metastasis. A common example of this is in
breast cancer. Tissues within the breast become cancerous and travel via the
bloodstream or lymphatic system and have the potential to begin new growths in
areas like the brain which can also be life-threatening.
What causes cancer?
There are many likely causes of cancers. Cancer is a genetic
disease that can be developed later in life due to environmental factors that
cause mutations to cell genes, or may develop due to an inherited genetic
predisposition to develop a certain type of cancer. It can also be congenital
or present at birth.
In childhood cancers, one of the most common causes is
genetic predispositions. Our body has genes and methods to prevent cells from
developing abnormally and potentially becoming cancerous. Sometimes, cancerous cells
can form due to random errors in this process, but it is very rare.
A common cause for cancer is genetic predisposition which
can either be inherited from the parents or as a result of genetic mutations
during fetal development. An example of this is childhood retinoblastoma, or
eye cancer. Ninety percent of children with a faulty or mutated gene known as
the Rb1, develop retinoblastoma. In these instances, 40 percent of mutated
genes are inherited.
Environmental factors have been found as a possible cause of
childhood cancers. In childhood leukemia, a “two-hit hypothesis” has been suggested
as a causal mechanism that is still being investigated by researchers. The
first “hit” takes places during fetal development as genetic mutations alter
cells, and the second “hit” occurs a few years after birth, resulting in full-blown
leukemia.
Other possible causes have been established and
investigated, such as ionizing radiation and chemical pollution. Possible causes
such as infections have also been studied in detail. Certain viruses have been
linked to cancers including Burkitt lymphoma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Although
infections account for a small portion of cases, evidence supports the role of
infection in the development of leukemia.
Treatment options
Treating cancer in children is not always treated in the
same ways cancer in adults is treated. Cancer treatment depends on the type of
cancer and how aggressive it is. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy,
immunotherapy, and stem cell transplants are some of the common treatments for
childhood cancers.
In leukemia, specifically acute lymphoblastic leukemia, treatment
usually calls for two to three years of chemotherapy, but treatment protocols
are vary greatly. In Jordan, childhood leukemia has a survival rate of 73
percent.
In brain cancers and cancers of the central nervous system,
the treatments also vary wildly, owing to the fact that there are many
different types of these cancers. In Jordan, the survival rates of these
cancers is 58 percent, which is one of the lowest compared to other cancers.
There are many treatments for lymphoma, more specifically
Hodgkin’s lymphoma, including radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or a combination
of the two. In Jordan, the survival rate for this cancer is high at 86 percent.
The impact of cancer treatment on the body can be far more
strenuous than the impact of the cancer itself. The treatments may affect
children more severely than adults due to the fact their bodies are still
growing and developing. The psychological effects of going through the disease
and long treatment process can further impair children’s development.
The King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC), located near the
south gate of the University of Jordan, is one of the best cancer treatment centers
in the world. Founded in 2001 by HRH Princess Ghida Talal, the KHCC has
received various international accreditations and was the first center to be
accredited by the Joint Commission International in the developing world as a
disease-specific cancer center. They offer exceptional care in the region and are
renowned for incorporating emotional and social support into their overall
treatment plans.
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