Study: Childhood cancer incidence and mortality in Canada, 1992 to 2010
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Released: 2015-09-22
During the 2006 to 2010 period, an average of 905 new cases of cancer were diagnosed each year in children under the age of 15, while an average of 129 children in the same age group died annually from the disease.
Leukemias are the most commonly diagnosed childhood cancer group
The types of cancers that develop in children are often different from those that develop in adults. Leukemias were the most commonly diagnosed childhood cancer group, accounting for just under one-third of all cancer cases in children during the 2006 to 2010 period. Cancers of the central nervous system were the second most commonly diagnosed at 19%, while lymphomas were third (11%). In contrast, adults are more likely to be diagnosed with breast, lung, prostate and colorectal cancer, all types that are very rare in children.
Incidence rates higher in boys than girls, particularly for lymphomas
For all childhood cancers combined, during the 2006 to 2010 period, the rate of newly diagnosed cases among boys was 10% higher than the corresponding rate among girls. Considering specific cancers, the rate was 80% higher for lymphoma among boys than girls. The rate of diagnosis of leukemia was 18% higher among boys than girls.
Patterns in age at diagnosis vary by type of childhood cancer
During the 2006 to 2010 period, cancer was diagnosed at almost twice the rate among children younger than the age of 5 (238 per million, per year) than among 5- to-14 year-olds (124 per million, per year). Patterns in the age of diagnosis also varied by childhood cancer group. For example, both leukemia and central nervous system tumours were most likely to be diagnosed in children aged 1 to 4 and were least likely to be diagnosed among those aged 10 to 14. In contrast, incidence rates of lymphoma increased with age. The lymphoma rate among those aged 10 to 14 (27 per million, per year) was approximately five times the rate for those under the age of 1.
Childhood cancer mortality decreases over time; incidence slowly increasing
Between 1992 and 2010, the age-standardized rate of death from childhood cancer decreased by an average of 2.0% per year, while the age-standardized incidence rate increased by an average of 0.4% annually. This trend was strongest for leukemia where the age-standardized mortality rate decreased by an average of 3.5% per year, while the corresponding incidence rate for this cancer increased by an average of 0.6% annually.
Chart 1
Age-standardized cancer incidence and mortality rates among children aged under 15
Note to readers
Childhood refers to the period of life before the age of 15.
Cancer incidence refers to the number of newly diagnosed cases of cancer. Cancer mortality refers to deaths attributed to cancer.
Age-standardized rates are used to control for potential differences in the age distribution of children over time. The age-standardized rate is the rate that would occur if the population of interest had the same age-structure as the standard population. The standard population used here is the component of people aged under 15 in the Canadian population as of July 1, 1991.
This release presents data from the Canadian Cancer Registry (CCR), a population-based database maintained by Statistics Canada. The CCR contains information on cases diagnosed from 1992 onward, compiled from reports from every provincial and territorial cancer registry.
It also presents data from the Canadian Vital Statistics – Death Database, which collects demographic and cause of death information annually from all provincial and territorial vital statistics registries on all deaths in Canada.
Products
The article "Childhood cancer incidence and mortality in Canada" in Health at a Glance (82-624-X), is now available from the Browse by key resource module of our website under Publications.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@canada.ca).
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