Is it true that child cancer is more likely to heal than adult cancer?

Medical Video: Conquering Childhood Cancer: A Seattle Children’s KOMO TV Special - full length

Generally, cancer in children is more difficult to detect and prevent compared to adult cancer. But it turns out that some studies suggest that child cancer has a greater chance of recovery than cancer in adults. Why does this happen?

Differences in cancer in children and in adults

Since the second world war, the development of the medical world in dealing with cancer has been growing until now. Even at that time, medical experts have been able to conclude that there is a difference between cancer cases in children with cancer in adults. The most striking difference from the two is that the rate of cure that occurs in childhood cancer is higher compared to adult cancer. Childhood cancer has a healing period of at least 5 years longer than people who have cancer as adults.

In the past, in the mid-1960s it was known that cancer in children such as leukemia could not be cured. But along with the times, currently 70% of leukemia in children can be cured. This is different from cancer that occurs in adults whose development of healing has no significant changes such as cancer treatment in children. Very little improvement in terms of treatment for adult cancer, especially in cases of lung and pancreatic cancer.

In addition, there are many different things in cases of cancer that occur in children with adult cancer. First, child and adult cancers are differentiated genotype and phenotype. Genotype is cancer that occurs as a result of cell mutations in the body and due to birth. While the phenotype factor is the gene factor and the environment that makes the cancer appear in the body. Secondly, the physiological differences in the body and how often the body is exposed or affected by the disease. While the third is cancer treatment in children with adults is very different.

Why is child cancer more likely to heal?

If based on biological aspects, cancer of children with adult cancer can be distinguished by the type of cancer that grows. Generally, almost all cancer cases that occur in adults are carcinomas that grow in epithelial tissue, such as prostate cancer, breast cancer, uterine cancer, cervical cancer. Whereas in childhood cancer, the cancer that occurs is a 'sarcoma' which grows on young or embryonal tissue in the body, such as nerve tissue, bones, lymphoma glands, and muscles. The five most common cancers in children are, blood cancer, brain cancer, lymphoma cancer, and bone cancer.

Carcinoma in adult cancer and sarcoma in child cancer, are both things that are very different in terms of type, place of growth, and how it grows, although both cause cancer in adults and children. Carcinoma is found more in the elderly, cancer cells grow as roots on various tissues, making it easy to spread. Whereas in sarcomas, or can be known as "malignant tumors" attack young cells and grow evenly into tissues and are more commonly found at a young age.

Various studies have found that, treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation are more effective in dealing with sarcoma that occurs in children, especially if it grows on young tissues. Meanwhile, the treatment is more resistant if it is carried out on cancers that are carcinoma-like, such as those found in many adult cancers. It is still unclear what reasons for treatment are more successful in dealing with sarcoma type cancer. However, until now, the opinion stated that the treatment that occurs in childhood cancer, not only causes embryonic cells or young cells to die. Treatment also causes 'premature aging' of normal cells, when this happens normal cells will regenerate cells quickly to replace damaged cells. Meanwhile, the ability of cell regeneration in adulthood is decreasing.

Although child cancer and adult cancer have the same type of cancer, namely leukemia or blood cancer and are given the same treatment stages, the results of treatment will be different. Treatment given to children who experience acute leukemia, 75% have the potential to heal children and survive 5 years. While treatment for leukemia that occurs in adulthood produces an average survival time of less than 5 years and only occurs in 20 to 30% of the total cases. From this fact it can be concluded that there are differences such as molecular distribution, cytogenetic, and immunity to leukima that occur in children and adults.

Ability to recover

Adult people, especially the elderly, have the ability to recover from illness more slowly than children. In addition, in adults there are various non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease that can slow cancer treatment. Degenerative diseases that affect adults other than cancer, can be a major obstacle to achieving successful and fast treatment.

But still, cancer is more likely to be cured if in an early condition, therefore do a routine check up to the doctor and do a healthy lifestyle so as to minimize the risk factors for cancer due to the environment.