Common Solid Tumors of Childhood

CHILDHOOD cancer is rare in the United States, but it is the leading cause of death from disease in children 1 to 15 years old.¹ The majority of cancers in children are malignant solid tumors, and about 4000 new cases are diagnosed each year.¹ Enormous strides have been made in the management of these neoplasms since Farber first demonstrated the sensitivity of metastatic Wilms' tumor to dactinomycin in the mid-1960s.² For example, rates of cure for solid tumors have increased by as much as 50 percent; new histologic subtypes with implications for prognosis have been identified and incorporated into systems.