Cancer is a very rare disease in children.
But a recently published study shows that the number of kræftsyge children is rising in Denmark.
The researchers from the Danish Cancer Control Centre For research on cancer concluded, after they have undergone the Danish cancer registry from the period 1943-2014.
the Cause is yet unknown, but our changing lifestyle may play a role. It writes the Danish Cancer society in a press release.
In the period 1943-1955 was that each year, 168 new children who got asked a cancer diagnosis.
60 years later, in the period 2006-2014, there are now 280 new cases per year.
Through the entire period, researchers can thus see that the number of children who get diagnosed with cancer is increasing.
the Incidence of cancer in children is highest in the age 0-4 and 15-19 years and lowest in children aged 5-14 years.
It is most often boys, who develop cancer, but in recent years, the number of girls with cancer increased most significantly
Statistics also show that denmark is among the countries in the world where the incidence of childhood cancer is highest.
But it can be reassuring to know that it is in the Nordic countries that are best at treating cancer in children, which means that four out of five children today survive their disease.
Kjeld Scmiegelow, who is a professor at The Juliane Marie Centre, and is in charge of the new national research centre for childhood cancer, points out that cancer is a rare disease among children, and Denmark is a small country, so the study may be associated with some uncertainty.
But if there is an increase, what is it then actually a expression for?
“without doubt There has been an increase in leukemia cases. We think that this hangs together with the fact that we in the Nordic region are living extremely healthy and clean. Previous studies have shown that the disease occurs among children, who have only been exposed to very few infections, so their immune system has not learned to fight infections,” he explains.
But the immune system can not explain the whole increase. Kjeld Scmiegelow believe that there is a need for more research in the area.
“We have also seen an increasing frequency in the other country – but what is there behind it? Cancer is many different subtypes, so you need a sod further down and connects more in-depth biology of the analyses, so that we can learn more about what subtypes of cancer are increased,” he says.
