Leukemia: No.1 cause of cancer deaths in children read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/889-leukemia-no-1-cause-of-cancer-deaths-in-children

According to a new report, Leukemia is No. 1 cause of cancer deaths in children.

From the details of National Center for Health Statistics changes in cancer death rates among children and teens ages 1 to 19, from 1999 to 2014.

"The shift from leukemia to brain cancer as the leading site of cancer death is a noteworthy development in the history of childhood cancer as it was always leukemia until quite recently," said lead author Sally Curtin, demographer and statistician at the NCHS.

There were still 1,785 cancer deaths in children and adolescents in 2014. Brain cancer and leukemia accounted for more than half of those.

Researchers wrote in their report that, major therapeutic advances in the treatment of cancers, particularly leukemia, has likely resulted in the increases in survivorship, the.

Overall, the cancer death rate for children and teens dropped 20 percent over the 15 years included in the study. Among females, the overall cancer death rate dropped 22 percent. Among males, it dropped 18 percent. Throughout the study period, the rate of cancer deaths among males outpaced that of females.

Dr. Peter Manley, a pediatric Neuro oncologist at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center said, the survival rates among children with brain tumors has not changed much.

Manley said, new research on brain cancer is focusing on cancer genomics, and on using molecular analysis and genome sequencing to learn what makes the tumors abnormal and what causes them to grow.

Researchers have also been developing drugs that target the molecules involved in cancer growth and spread.

Overall, the important thing to take from this is that, across the board, there are significantly cancer deaths just in the last 15 years, Manley said. So, in the next 15 years, we'll continue to see that decline.