SOLID TUMORS IN CHILDREN

Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in children from the ages of 1 to 15 years, second only to trauma in overall causes of childhood mortality.(22) Solid tumors account for at least 60% of chil dhood cancers. In descending order of frequency are the nervous system tumors (20%-25%), lymphomas (10%-15%), neuroblastomas (8%), nephrobla stomas (7%), rhabdomyosarcomas (5%), and teratomas (3%). Ewing's sarco ma, hepatic tumors, and other soft-tissue tumors constitute the remain der.(18, 22, 27) Few malignant tumors in children can be treated solel y by surgical excision, and the majority require a constellation of he alth care providers including nurses, social workers, surgeons, oncolo gists, and radiation therapists. Pediatric surgical oncology nursing p resents a dual challenge: care of the child with a disease caused by c ancer and care of a child recovering from a major surgical procedure. An understanding of the incidence, evaluation, treatment, and prognosi s of solid tumors in children will ultimately help the nurse to acquir e the skills necessary to educate parents and their children about exp ected outcomes and plans of care. This article reviews selected tumors in children and their prognoses and describes current preoperative an d postoperative nursing management.