Childhood cancers are grouped into twelve main categories, each divided into subcategories according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer (see ICCC-3).
Cancer incidence in population under 20 in 2012–2021
Number of new cancer cases by site group
The figure shows the average number of cancer cases diagnosed each year. The length of the column describes the number of cases in each main category, and the colours indicate the distribution of cases into subcategories.
The average number of cancers per year in the population under 20 years of age was 233 persons.
Cancers diagnosed in persons under 20 years of age are usually haematological cancers (leukaemias and lymphomas) or brain and central nervous system tumours such as gliomas.
Cancer incidence in population under 20 in 2012–2021
Number of new cancer cases by age group
The figure shows the average number of cancer cases diagnosed per year in groups formed based on the age of onset.
The most commonly diagnosed cancer types among under-15s are leukaemias and brain and central nervous system tumours.
Neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma and kidney tumours are typical cancers among small children.
Lymphatic cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among 15–19-year-olds. There are also relatively many cancers that belong to the category ‘Other carcinomas and melanomas’, mainly thyroid and colon carcinomas and melanomas of the skin.
Cancer incidence in population under 20 in 2012–2021
Risk of developing cancer by age group
The figure shows the number of cancer cases per 100,000 persons diagnosed per year by age group.
The risk of developing cancer under the age of 20 is low: each year, an average of 20 out of 100,000 persons develop cancer.
About 50,000 children are born every year in Finland, 15 of whom develop cancer before the age of 1 (30 out of 100,000).
The incidence of leukaemias is clearly highest among children aged between 1 and 4. In this age range, 10 children out of 100,000 are diagnosed with leukaemia over a one-year period.
Young people aged 15–19 are at greatest risk of developing lymphatic cancers: 7 out of 100,000 per year.
Cancer survivors diagnosed with cancer under age 20
Number of survivors by site group
The figure shows the number of cancer survivors at year-end 2021 diagnosed with cancer under the age of 20. The length of the column describes the number of survivors in each main category, and the colours indicate the distribution of survivors into subcategories (see ICCC-3).
At year-end 2021, there were 8144 people alive in Finland who had been diagnosed with cancer between 1953 and 2021 at under 20 years of age.
Of persons diagnosed with leukaemia, 1889 were alive, 1566 of whom had been diagnosed with lymphoid leukaemia.
There were only 44 persons alive who had been diagnosed with liver tumours. The low number of survivors is due in particular to the rare incidence of liver tumours (only 119 persons under 20 years of age diagnosed with liver tumours in 1953–2021). Liver tumours are also among the cancer categories that carry the poorest prognoses (see Cancer prognoses).
Cancer survivors diagnosed with cancer under age 20
Number of survivors by age group
The figure shows the number of persons alive at year-end 2021 who had developed cancer at under 20 years of age in groups formed based on the age of onset.
About half (957 persons) of those living with leukaemia had been diagnosed at under 5 years of age.
The number of survivors was the highest (2540 persons) among those who had developed cancer at 15 to 19 years of age, 701 of whom had been diagnosed with carcinoma (including thyroid and colon carcinomas) or melanoma and 649 with lymphatic cancer.
The second highest number of survivors (2111 persons) was found among those who had developed cancer at 1 to 4 years of age, of whom 887 children had developed leukaemia and 391 had developed brain or central nervous system tumours.
Of children who had developed cancer under 1 year of age, 569 were alive, of whom 145 had been diagnosed with neuroblastoma and 90 with retinoblastoma.
Survival of persons diagnosed with cancer at age under 20 in 2012–2021
The survival of patients diagnosed with cancer in 2012–2021 is described with a survival rate, which is an estimate of the proportion of patients that are alive five years after the cancer was detected. In addition, a 95% confidence interval is presented as a measure of the random error associated with the estimate. The survival rates are not shown for patient groups with less than 20 cancer cases.
Patient survival rate
The figure shows the five-year survival rates in the main cancer categories and, for the three most common categories, also by age group.
The survival rate was the highest among individuals with retinoblastoma and kidney tumours: 100% and 98% of patients with retinoblastoma and kidney tumours, respectively, were alive five years after diagnosis.
Individuals diagnosed with liver tumours had the lowest survival rate: 71%.
In leukaemias, a particularly high survival rate was observed in children aged 1–9 years, who are often diagnosed with lymphoid leukaemias that carry a good prognosis. Acute myeloid leukaemias with a poorer prognosis are more often diagnosed in patients under 1 year of age and patients aged between 10 and 19.
In the case of brain tumours, the survival rate increases with age, as older children are diagnosed with more tumours that are less aggressive (e.g. meningiomas).
Survival of persons diagnosed with cancer at age under 20 in 2012–2021
Survival rate by cancer subcategory
The figure shows the five-year survival rates by cancer subcategory for the three most common main categories (see ICCC-3). The survival rates are not shown for subcategories with less than 20 cancer cases.
Among patients with lymphoid leukaemias, the five-year survival rate (96%) was clearly higher than among those with acute myeloid leukaemia (75%).
In subcategories of lymphomas, the survival rate was very high for Hodgkin lymphoma (99%) and miscellaneous lymphoreticular neoplasms (100%).
In astrocytoma, the most common brain tumour, the survival rate was 87%. The category ‘Other specified intracranial and intraspinal neoplasms’ shows a high survival rate (98%), because tumours in this category, such as meningiomas and gangliogliomas, are less aggressive.
Survival of persons diagnosed with cancer at age under 20 in 1962–2021
Changes in survival rates
The figure shows the development of the five-year survival rate from the 1962–1971 diagnosis period to 2012–2021 by cancer category.
The increase in survival rates was particularly high in the 1970s and 1980s.
The increase in survival rates was the highest among individuals diagnosed with leukaemia: 34% of those diagnosed in 1972–1981 and 92% of those diagnosed in 2012–2021 were alive five years after diagnosis.
Cancer mortality in population under 20 in 2012–2021
Cancer deaths by cancer category
The figure shows the distribution of cancer deaths into the main categories (see ICCC-3).
The average cancer mortality per year was 26 individuals under 20 years of age.
Most of the deaths were caused by brain and central nervous system tumours, leukaemias and soft-tissue sarcomas.
Leukaemias cause a significant proportion of cancer deaths, even though leukaemias on average carry a good prognosis. This is because leukaemias are the most common cancer type among the under-20 age group.