Where Children With Cancer Are Treated

Most children with cancer do better at a hospital that treats children's cancer every day. These are called children's cancer centers. Even though each type of childhood cancer is rare, the doctors and nurses there see it often. That experience matters, and it can change outcomes.

A child's body is not a small adult body. Cancer, and cancer treatment, affects a growing body differently than a grown one. Children also process some drugs differently than adults do. A team that treats children every day knows how to adjust a plan around a child's age and growth.

Children's cancer centers bring together a full team in one place: pediatric oncologists, pediatric surgeons, radiation oncologists, nurses, social workers, and child life specialists who help kids cope. Your family works with one coordinated group instead of piecing care together yourselves.

Most children's cancer centers in the United States belong to the Children's Oncology Group, known as COG. COG is the largest organization in the world doing research on childhood cancer. A hospital in COG follows treatment plans that have been tested and refined across many centers.

Being part of COG also means access to clinical trials. Many children with cancer are treated as part of a trial, testing the newest, most promising approach for their specific cancer. That access is one of the biggest reasons a specialized center matters.

Childhood cancer is rare. For 2025, the American Cancer Society projected about 9,550 new cases in children ages 0 to 14 in the United States, and around 1,050 deaths. No newer national projection for this age group has been published. The most common types are leukemias, brain and spinal cord tumors, and lymphomas.

The outlook has changed enormously. Death rates for childhood cancer fell 70% between 1970 and 2020. That progress came largely from shared research through cooperative groups like COG, and from more children getting treated at specialized centers. By 2020, close to 496,000 people in the United States were living as childhood cancer survivors.

Some patients are teenagers or young adults, and the best fit is not always obvious. Adolescents and young adults sometimes do better on treatment plans built for children, even past age 18, especially for cancers like leukemia. Ask your care team whether a pediatric program or an adolescent-and-young-adult program fits your situation best.

Ask your child's pediatrician for a referral to a children's cancer center, ideally one that belongs to COG. The National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service can also help you find one. Call 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237), or use LiveHelp chat at cancer.gov.

Many families travel some distance for this kind of specialized care. Ask your social worker about travel and lodging support early — many centers have programs that help with cost and logistics, and some housing near hospitals is free or low-cost for families.

It is normal to ask for a second opinion, even at a good hospital. Most doctors expect it and will help you get one. A second opinion can confirm the plan, offer another option, or point you toward a clinical trial your first team did not mention. It rarely delays care by more than a few days, and for most childhood cancers, a short delay to get this right is safe.

• A team that manages childhood cancer regularly, not occasionally.
• Access to clinical trials most other hospitals cannot offer.
• Coordinated care in one place: labs, imaging, chemotherapy, and surgery.
• Specialists in child development, school reentry, and family support.
• A plan for long-term follow-up, since some effects of treatment only show up years later.

Ask whether the hospital treating your child belongs to the Children's Oncology Group. Ask whether a clinical trial is available and right for your child's cancer. Ask exactly who is on your child's care team, and who to call after hours. Ask what support exists for siblings, and for you as a parent.

Care does not stop when treatment does. Children's cancer centers usually run a survivorship clinic, a follow-up team that watches for late effects of treatment for years afterward. Some effects, like changes to the heart or a slower-growing bone, do not show up until a child is older. Ask your center whether it has a survivorship clinic, and when your child should start going.

• National Cancer Institute — Childhood Cancers.
• National Cancer Institute — Cancer Information Service.