Carcinomas occur rarely in children and adolescents. Despite their rarity, these tumors present a unique opportunity to assess theories of origin because the interval from birth to tumor onset is relatively short compared with that seen in adults. We describe the clinical and demographic characteristics of 151 patients younger than 20 years of age with carcinomas who were treated at a pediatric cancer center having a large referral area. Incidence data for the major types of carcinomas in children, based on unpublished data provided by the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER), also are reported.
Cuncer 61:1046-1050,1988.
ARCINOMAS account for 87% of all cancers in C adults (20 years of age and older), but only 12% of all cancers in children and adolescents (younger than 20 years of age).' Pediatric treatment centers report small numbers of cases usually. We describe a large series of patients with carcinomas who were treated at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a pediatric cancer center having a large referral area. In addition, data from a national sample of cancer cases permitted the computation of the number of carcinomas occurring annually in children in the US.
Patients and Methods
All patients admitted to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital between March 1962 and December 1986 with a diagnosis of carcinoma, as either a primary or second malignancy, were included in this study. Data obtained from the computerized medical records system included