[Epidemiological aspects of childhood cancer].

In France, cancer hits around 1700 children (0-14 years) each year. The age-standardized incidence rate for all cancers combined is 152 cases per million children per year, with a sex ratio of 1.2. In other terms, one child out of 440 develops a cancer before the age of 15 in industrial countries. The most frequent cancers were leukaemia (29%), embryonal tumours apart central nervous system (25%), central nervous system tumour (23%) and lymphoma (12%). The incidence varies between countries with higher overall rates in industrialized countries. These variations may reflect differences in diagnostic techniques or registration or in the distribution of possible risk factors. Five-year survival after childhood cancer has dramatically improved in the last 30 years, reaching yet 80%.