During childbirth, the perineum stretches and often tears. The perineum is the muscle and tissue between the anus and the vagina. One step you could take that might help prevent tearing is to stretch and massage the perineum for a few weeks before your due date. Studies show that some people who did regular perineal...
To relieve pain during the second (pushing) stage of labor, an injection called a pudendal block can be given through the vaginal wall and into the pudendal nerve in the pelvis. This numbs the area between the vagina and anus. It doesn't relieve the pain of contractions. A pudendal block works fast, is easily given, and...
To relieve pain during the second (pushing) stage of labor, an injection called a pudendal block can be given through the vaginal wall. It goes into the pudendal nerve in the pelvis. This numbs the area between the vagina and anus. It doesn't relieve the pain of contractions. A pudendal block works fast. It's easy to...
Group B strep infection is caused by a type of bacteria. It's a different kind of bacteria than the kind that causes strep throat. You may have this kind of bacteria in your body. Sometimes it may cause an infection, but most of the time it doesn't make you sick or cause symptoms. But if you pass the bacteria to your...
Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (also called ALL or acute lymphocytic leukemia) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. This is the most common type of cancer in children. It accounts for about 25% of all childhood cancers in the United States and occurs most often in children aged 1 to 4 years. Anatomy of the...
Cancer in children and adolescents is rare, although the overall incidence of childhood cancer, including ALL, has slowly increased since 1975.[ 1] Dramatic improvements in survival have been achieved in children and adolescents with cancer.[ 1, 2, 3] Between 1975 and 2020, childhood cancer mortality decreased by more...
Approximately 20% of childhood leukemias are of myeloid origin and represent a spectrum of hematopoietic malignancies.[ 1] Most myeloid leukemias in children are acute; the remainder include chronic and/or subacute myeloproliferative disorders, such as chronic myeloid leukemia and juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia...
Childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes a large number of abnormal blood cells. Childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. AML is also called acute myelogenous leukemia and acute nonlymphocytic leukemia. Cancers that are acute...
APL occurs in about 7% of children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).[ 1, 2] APL is a distinct subtype of AML. Several factors that make APL unique include the following: Clinical presentation of universal coagulopathy (disseminated intravascular coagulation) and unique morphological characteristics...
Adrenocortical tumors encompass a spectrum of diseases with an often seamless transition from benign (adenoma) to malignant (carcinoma) characteristics. The incidence of adrenocortical tumors in children is extremely low (only 0.2% of pediatric cancers).[ 1] In children, 25 new cases generally occur annually in the...
Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the outer layer of the adrenal gland. There are two adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are small and shaped like a triangle. One adrenal gland sits on top of each kidney. Each adrenal gland has two parts. The outer layer of the adrenal...
Gliomas are a group of tumors that arise from glial cells in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). Glial cells support and protect the brain's nerve cells (also called neurons). They hold nerve cells in place, bring food and oxygen to nerve cells, and help protect nerve cells from disease, such as...
Primary brain tumors, including gliomas, are a diverse group of diseases that together constitute the most common solid tumors of childhood. Brain tumors are classified according to histology and molecular features, but tumor location and extent of spread are also important factors that affect treatment and prognosis...
Nonmelanoma skin cancers include basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). These skin cancers are very rare in children and adolescents. Based on National Childhood Cancer Registry data from 2016 to 2020, the incidence rate of skin carcinomas in children younger than 20 years was 0.1 cases per 1...
Skin cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the skin. The skin is the body's largest organ. It protects against heat, sunlight, injury, and infection. Skin also helps control body temperature and stores water, fat, and vitamin D. The skin has several layers, but the two main...
Urothelial bladder neoplasms are extremely rare in children. The most common presenting symptom of bladder cancer in children is hematuria.[ 1, 2] Bladder tumors can present throughout the pediatric age range. In one small series, the mean age was 11.9 years (range, 4–19 years).[ 3] In another study, patients were aged...
Childhood bladder cancer is a very rare type of cancer that forms in the tissues of the bladder. The bladder is a hollow, balloon-shaped organ in the lower part of the abdomen that stores urine. The bladder has a muscular wall that allows it to get larger to store urine made by the kidneys, and to shrink to squeeze...
Primary brain tumors are a diverse group of diseases that together constitute the most common solid tumor of childhood. The Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (CBTRUS) estimates that approximately 4,300 U.S. children are diagnosed each year.[ 1] Brain tumors are classified by histology, but tumor location...
A childhood brain or spinal cord tumor is a disease in which abnormal cells form in the tissues of the brain or spinal cord. There are many types of childhood brain and spinal cord tumors. The tumors are formed by the abnormal growth of cells and may begin in different areas of the brain or spinal cord. The tumors may...
Primary brain tumors, including brain stem gliomas, are a diverse group of diseases that together constitute the most common solid tumor of childhood. Immunohistochemical analysis, cytogenetic and molecular genetic findings, and measures of mitotic activity are increasingly used in tumor diagnosis and classification...
Childhood brain stem glioma is a disease in which benign (noncancer) or malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the brain stem. Gliomas are tumors formed from glial cells. Glial cells in the brain hold nerve cells in place, bring food and oxygen to nerve cells, and help protect nerve cells from disease, such as...
Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast. The breast is made up of lobes and ducts. Each breast has 15 to 20 sections called lobes. Each lobe has many smaller sections called lobules. Lobules end in dozens of tiny bulbs that can make milk. The lobes, lobules, and...
Incidence and Risk Factors. Benign fibroadenomas are the most common breast tumors seen in children aged 18 years or younger.[ 1, 2] The prevalence of fibroadenoma is 2.2% in females aged 10 to 30 years.[ 1, 2] The incidence increases with age, although girls aged 12 to 16 years tend to have larger lesions than women...
Research teams from around the world have made remarkable progress in the past decade in elucidating the genomic landscape of most types of childhood cancer. A decade ago it was possible to hope that targetable oncogenes, such as activated tyrosine kinases, might be identified in a high percentage of childhood cancers...
Cancers of unknown primary sites present as metastatic cancers for which precise primary tumor sites cannot be determined.[ 1] As an example, lymph nodes at the base of the skull may enlarge in relationship to a tumor on the face or scalp that is not evident by physical examination or radiographic imaging. Thus, modern...
Carcinoma of unknown primary is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found in the body but the place the cancer began is not known. Cancer can form in any tissue in the body. The first cancer to form is called the primary cancer. The process of cancer cells spreading to other parts of the body is called...
Cardiac tumors are rare in children, with an autopsy frequency of 0.001% to 0.30%.[ 1] In one report, the percentage of cardiac surgeries performed as a result of cardiac tumors was 0.093%.[ 2] The distribution of cardiac tumors in the fetal and neonatal period is different from that in older patients, with two-thirds...
Primary brain tumors, including atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RTs), are a diverse group of diseases that together constitute the most common solid tumors of childhood. The PDQ childhood brain tumor treatment summaries are primarily organized according to the World Health Organization classification of nervous...
Central nervous system (CNS) atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a cancer that forms in the tissues of the brain. Central nervous system (CNS) atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a very rare, fast-growing cancer that begins in the brain and spinal cord. It usually occurs in children aged 3 years and...
Primary brain tumors, including germ cell tumors (GCTs), are a diverse group of diseases that together constitute the most common solid tumors of childhood. The most recent World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Central Nervous System Tumours implements some molecular parameters, in addition to histology, to...
