Pediatric Oncology Definition

Pediatrics is a division of medicine devoted to treating children. Typically, pediatricians see patients up to about the age of 18 years before transferring their care to a physician who deals with adult patients. Though some pediatricians choose to offer general practice services, such as monitoring healthy growth and providing annual checkups, others choose to specialize in a more narrow field of medicine. Pediatric oncology is one such field that is dedicated to the treatment of children who develop cancer.

Training

• For a doctor to work as a pediatric oncologist, there are certain educational requirements. All doctors in the United States attend medical school sometime after receiving their undergraduate degree. After medical school, doctors continue their training by completing a three-year term of on-the-job training called a residency.

  Once finished with her residency, a doctor may choose to become a general practitioner such as a normal family doctor, or they may opt to complete another three-year training program called a fellowship. Fellowships are used for specialization within the medical field. Therefore, a fellowship exists within a certain division, such as cardiology, neurology or oncology.

  Furthermore, doctors are divided by whether they complete this training in pediatric or adult hospitals, making them pediatricians or adult care providers. Additionally, all doctors must pass the American Medical Association's Medical Boards exam to become certified to practice medicine.

Cancer in Children

• Though often a medical condition associated with aging, it is possible to develop cancer at any age. There are certain types of cancer that are more prevalent in youth, however. Most common are leukemia, neuroblastoma, brain cancer, lymphoma, bone cancer, retinoblastoma, germ cell tumors and nephroblastoma. None of these conditions are considered common. Statistically, leukemia and brain cancer are the most frequently developed with about five to 15 in 100,000 diagnosed (reported value varies). This accounts for approximately 50 percent of cases in pediatric oncology. The others are seen less frequently.

Treatment

• There are several methods used to treat cancer, but as of 2010, a cure has not yet been successfully implemented, despite numerous promising studies. In general, the earlier cancer is diagnosed, the better the prognosis of the patient. Depending on the type of cancer, its location and its severity, methods of treatment range from surgical removal of malignant tumors, chemotherapy to target and destroy specific cells within the body, radiation therapy to kill all cells in a certain area, or donor transplants of tissue such as bone marrow. Promising new developments in oncological treatment involve medications that can more specifically target cancerous cells, rather than healthy cells.

Prognosis

• Because early-stage diagnoses result in a much better prognosis than late-stage diagnoses, the outcomes will vary greatly. Only qualified physicians can offer an accurate prognosis based on a specific case's details. However, as of 2003, the five-year survival rate following diagnosis of pediatric cancer was just under 80 percent. This is due largely in part to the progress that has been made toward reaching the remission stage, or time following intensive treatment during which the cancer is no longer present.

Best Care Providers

• According the "U.S. News & World Report," the best pediatric hospitals for cancer treatment are in order as follows: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Children's Hospital Boston, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Texas Children's Hospital. More information about each of these institutions and others recognized for excellent care is available online through various search engines or the links in Resources.