President Donald Trump said in a joint speech to Congress on Tuesday, saying that it is the priority of the administration to solve this problem.
Trump said in a speech, “Since 1975, the proportion of child cancer has increased by more than 40 %. “This trend is one of the top priorities for our new presidential committee to make the United States healthy again.
The president also took time to emphasize the survivor of 13 -year -old brain cancer, and he invited him as a special guest to attend his address.
It’s not clear that Trump has gained 40%, but according to the data, childhood cancer rates have been actually increasing over the last decades. But pediatric tumor specialists said that ABC News missed important contexts such as early detection and environmental factors.
“This diagnosis has increased in tracking data,” Dr. John Prensner, a pediatrician and biology professor of pediatrics and biology at the University of Michigan School of Medicine It’s correct, ”he told ABC News. “I think the context of this number is incredibly important. I think this is excluded from the conversation.”
In addition, the treatment of children’s cancer is improving and the number of children’s cancer survivors is increasing, Pressner said.
President Donald Trump announced a parliamentary joint meeting on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at the National Assembly in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
What the data shows
A study published in the journal earlier this year plos one This was carried out by researchers in the United States, Germany and Jordan, and since 1975, the US child’s cancer rate has increased by about 33%.
According to the study, the incidence of childhood cancer has risen about 18.89 children per 100,000 children between 100,000 children between 1975 and 1979, from 2010 to 2019.
Increase in certain types of cancer has been found. leukemia,,, Lymphoma,,, Brain tumor,,, Liver tumorand Genital reproductive cell tumorResearch shows.
Also, A Report of the US Environmental Protection Bureau In the last 40 years, the number of children diagnosed with leukemia has increased by about 35%.
These trends reflect what can be seen in an older population. Cancer rate is also an increase in adults under 50 years old..
Reasons for increasing rates
PRENSNER thinks scientists have many reasons why child cancer rates increase.
According to the PRENSNER, many types of tests that are currently used have not existed 50 years ago, one reason is the dramatic improvement of medical examinations for decades after the dramatic improvement of medical examination over the last decades.
Prensner said in ABC News: “This includes a dramatic and dramatic improvement that can image CAT scan and MRI scan patients. “This includes improvement in the way you monitor and select a specific patient. We have more information about patients called cancer syndrome. That is, there is a high risk of cancer.”
“The patients actively monitor them so that they can diagnose early before the cancer can spread, so there was no scientific information, so it may not have been monitored for decades.”
Prensner suggests that these factors can play an important role in increasing childhood cancer rates, according to data, although they are not experts on cancer risks caused by environmental exposure.
no way Study from March 2024 More than 200 previous studies have found that they are associated with more exposure to chemicals and vehicle emissions such as pesticides, harmful air pollutants, and benzene.
Reduced child mortality rate
Children’s cancer rates have increased, but child cancer mortality has decreased significantly over the last decades. Between 2001 and 2021, the cancer mortality rate for children under the age of 19 and young people decreased 24%. Disease Control and Prevention Center (Disease Control Prevention Center).
Friends said that you are close 500,000 childhood cancer survivors In the United States, there are many adults, which can cause more children to survive cancer and can be caused by medical treatment and early detection.
A doctor’s inventory image confirming the heartbeat of pediatric patients.
Terry Vine/Getty Image
“There are some types of childhood cancers related to congenital abnormalities or congenital defects, and patients born with other disabilities live longer now, so they live longer, so they get better treatment to get better treatment.”
Lisa Lacasse, chairman of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said in a statement on ABC News that President Trump was “encouraged to light it up with a child’s cancer rate.
According to the National Cancer Institute, “the incidence of pediatric cancer has increased over the last decades, while the cancer mortality rate of children under 20 years of age has decreased by more than 50% from 1975 to 2022, but the continuous impact of treatment has not been affected.” “The progress of survival was possible thanks to the innovation of investment and treatment of research.”
Suhas Kochat is a resident of Novant Health in North Carolina and a member of ABC News Medical Unit.
