Pediatric cancer is very dangerous for children. If we look at the data of the World Health Organization, we will find that every year 4 lakh new cases are reported across the world. According to Dr. RM Laxmikant, Senior Histopathologist, Metropolis Healthcare, Chennai, many children lose their lives due to this disease.

Children at risk of pediatric cancer
Although 80 percent of these pediatric cancers are curable, problems arise in such diseases due to lack of early diagnosis, wrong diagnosis, and too late diagnosis. Apart from this, leaving the treatment midway due to toxicity and relapse can also lead to death. The most common cancers in children and adolescents include leukemia (24.7%), tumors, and nervous system (17.2%), non-Hawking lymphoma (7.5%), Hawking lymphoma (6.5%), and soft tissue sarcoma (5.9%).

How is diagnosis done?
To detect pediatric cancer, many types of samples are required which include blood, serum, body fluid, and tissue. The purpose of this type of investigation is to find out the actual type of cancer, and getting information about how deep the disease is makes it easier to carry out therapy.

In the case of leukemia, a peripheral smear or bone marrow aspiration is studied, followed by flow cytometry, which uses fluorescence-labeled antibodies to detect antigens in tumor cells. and get information about the size of the tumor

As far as solid tumors are concerned, image-guided biopsy is done, followed by histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry. If necessary, doctors evaluate the antigens expressed in tumor cells.

The pathogenesis of pediatric tumors is distinct and unique from that of adults, usually originating from a single genetic driver event. In the present era, more emphasis is given to molecular classification.

The real thing is that the diagnosis of tumors is incomplete without studying genetic alterations. Doctors use this platform to do various things like-

-FISH: in which translocation can be detected
-RT PCR: In which fusion genes and point mutations can be detected.
-Next Generation Sequencing: In which genetic alterations can be studied
-Apart from this, many serum tumor makers are used which include AFP, Beta HCG, and Urine VMA.
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(PC: Freepik)