2024-02-11 17:43:00
He child cancer It is the main cause of mortality in children between five and 14 years old. While in adults there are cases that can be prevented with lifestyle changes, with minors the origin of the disease is unknown. But what can be done to achieve timely detection?
Dr. Melania Abreu, geneticist at the ABC Medical Centercomments that, although the cancer in pediatric age It is highly fatal, it can be curable if early detection is achieved with specific and targeted treatment.
Why does childhood cancer occur?
There are neoplasms that can present from birth, such as embryonal tumors among which are included the neuroblastomas, tumores de Wilms o retinoblastomas.
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Many are sporadic but in some cases they can be caused by a genetic syndrome or family history, which is why it is important to know the child’s family tree.
Although hereditary cancer syndromes are rare in children, there are conditions such as Li Fraumeni syndromein which there is a high risk of presenting various types of tumors.
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This is due to the presence of genetic variants or germline mutations in the TP53 gene, these cases can be hereditary and have a 50% risk of recurrence in the offspring.
“It is important that doctors conduct a good interview with the family about the history of cancer and the ages of presentation, which will allow us to know the history in children and identify them as a risk factor.”
Can childhood cancer be detected with genetic tests?
Beyond the background interrogation, it is also advisable to carry out genetic studies. These allow us to detect in time the mutations that can trigger cancer.
“Each of the cells that loses control of cell division accumulates mutations and is what generates the appearance of cancer. In leukemias and lymphomas, which are the most common in children, mutations are due to the fusion of a gene with another gene that results in the expression of a protein, with new characteristics that condition the development of the disease.”
Another example of this are the histone mutationswhich are proteins that surround DNA and have a particular code, but when these present mutations they have been associated with tumors of the central nervous system, which are the second most common in this age group.
Although it may be thought that the genetic studies They are expensive, currently and thanks to new sequencing techniques they have become more accessible. They allow you to look for specific mutations, both directly in tumors and in the blood, which will help identify if there is a risk of developing a specific variety of cancer.
Once the study has been carried out, and knowing the mutations that the patient has, the treatment can be directed. It is of great importance that specific and targeted treatment is carried out. This will generate a better response, fewer adverse effects, fewer failures and fewer relapses.
When cancer is detected at an early stage, it is very likely that it will respond to effective treatment, which will increase the patient’s survival, improve their quality of life and have less suffering and costs.
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