Infants with Cancer: A Unique Population

Publication date: February 2014 Source:Journal of Experimental & Clinical Medicine, Volume 6, Issue 1 Author(s): Shu-Huey Chen , Yen-Lin Liu , Wen-Ming Hsu , James S. Miser Cancer occurring in infants often has a clinical and biological behavior that is different from cancers occurring in older children. The histological distribution of cancers in infants is different from that in older children. The five most common types of cancer occurring in infants in Taiwan are leukemia, neuroblastoma, germ cell tumors, central nervous system neoplasms, and retinoblastomas. Cancer in infants represents a unique situation in which to study cancer etiology. A significant number of infants with cancer have a genetic susceptibility to the disease; however, some emerging studies suggest a potential role for environmental, dietary, and drug exposures in the etiology of infant cancers. Further definitive trials will be necessary to establish clear associations, however. Because of their very young age and the immaturity of many of their physiological systems, the approach to treatment in young infants differs from that in older children. The infant's response to treatment also differs from older children, indicating the unique biological properties of cancer in infants that may explain different clinical outcomes in this unique population. Infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia has a much inferior outcome compared with the outcome in older children. In contrast, neuroblastoma in i...
Source: Journal of Experimental and Clinical Medicine - Category: Journals (General) Source Type: research