• Childhood cancer is rare. In Malaysia approximately 1200 new cases of childhood cancer are diagnosed each year
• Unlike adults, majority of cases have no known cause
• Therefore preventive strategies will be difficult
• But it is never too early to instill good habits and healthy lifestyles among our children
• In some cases there are certain factors which increases the likelihood of the child developing cancer => risk factors
• These include :

1. 1. Genetic - Chromosomal abnormalities e.g. Down’s syndrome or rare inherited disorders
   2. Immunodeficiencies whether congenital or acquired (e.g. AIDS)
   3. Infections such as Hepatitis B in liver cancer or Ebstein Barr Virus in Burkitt’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s and Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)
   4. Parental age
   5. Exposure to ionizing Radiation
   6. A child who has had a cancer and was treated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy is at risk of developing another cancer. This is called second malignant neoplasm.

• No conclusive evidence for:

1. 1. Exposure to non- ionizing radiation
   2. Parental occupation
   3. Parental smoking

• The symptoms of cancer such as fever, pallor or bruising can also occur in other more common non –cancerous conditions such as dengue fever or other infections. Because of this, doctors rarely cancer when these symptoms first appear.

Updated:: 01/09/2021 []