Childhood cancer is not simply adult cancer in a child. Cancers in children are often different in their causes, the way they grow and spread, and how they respond to treatment.
When a child is diagnosed with cancer there is usually no known cause. This makes it very hard for parents, who are left with unanswered questions about why their child has cancer, and if there was anything they could have done to prevent it.
The lives of their entire family are thrown upside-down. Treatment can go for years, can be very intensive and expensive, and puts an enormous strain on family life. When a child dies, an average of 70 potential years of life are lost.
Of those who do survive, two-thirds will have significant long-term treatment side effects, including organ dysfunction, neurocognitive deficits, impaired fertility, and secondary malignancies.
The Children's Cancer Institute was established in 1976 by a dedicated group of parents of children with cancer and their doctors. First established as a foundation to fund childhood cancer research, they opened their own research laboratories in 1984. Since then, they have grown to employ more than 300 researchers, students and operational staff and are recognised as one of the leading international child cancer research institutes.
The research takes a multi-pronged approach to tackling childhood cancer. Whether it’s investigating causes and prevention, improving diagnosis and monitoring, or developing better treatments, the research is all about improving the lives of children and their families.
To solve the complex problem of childhood cancer, they need the best available tools. Situated in one of the largest cancer research centres in the southern hemisphere, their purpose-built facilities are world-class and cutting-edge.
