One in every 330 Americans develops cancer before the age of 20.  On average one to two children develop the disease each year for every 10,000 children.

In 2008 approximately 11,000 children were diagnosed with cancer in the United States.

In the past 20 years, the cure rate for childhood cancers has more than doubled, from approximately 30% to about 80%.

Despite these advances, cancer is the second leading cause of death in children, after trauma.

Although cure rates are up, the incidence of cancer continues to rise in all age, racial and ethnic subgroups-especially adolescents.

The Vanderbilt Childhood Cancer Center is one of a select group of national Cancer Institute- designated cancer centers in the southeast and the only one in Tennessee dedicated to providing the most promising therapies and advancing research for all types of cancer in children and adults. 

In 2008, approximately 135 children with newly diagnosed cancer received their care at Children's Hospital- about one new patient every three days.

In 2008, the Vanderbilt Childhood Cancer Program had over 900 hospital admissions and over 15,000 outpatient visits (over a 50 % increase from just 5 years ago).  The emphasis is on family-centered, exceptional patient care and on "translational research", where innovative therapies are rapidly brought to the bedside.

Dedicated facilities include clinic space and infusion area, a 12 bed HEPA-filtered Myelosuppression unit, and office research labratory space.

25 to 30 bone marrow transplants are performed each year in Children's Hospita'ls myelosuppression unit, including highly specialized unrelated marrow transplants and cord blood transplants.

A long term follow-up Survivorship Clinic has been established, with a donation from the Children's Fund and grant support from the Children's oncology Group, which focuses on the late effects of successful cancer treatment in patients who are five years of more beyond diagnosis.