An immunotherapy for neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system that strikes young children, works by flagging tumor cells for the immune system to destroy. Penn State College of Medicine researchers found that blocking a protein called VPS34 causes tumor cells to display more of the molecule that flag attaches to, making them easier for immune cells to find and kill. Read more: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-pediatric-cancer-visible-boosts-immunotherapy.html

For the growing population of children who survive a first cancer diagnosis, the battle is often assumed to be over once remission is achieved. Yet a new study from Beijing Children’s Hospital is drawing attention to a quieter, slower-moving threat that can emerge years later: second primary thyroid cancer, or SPTC, a malignancy that arises in the thyroid gland of a patient who has already beaten another childhood cancer. Read more: https://bioengineer.org/thyroid-cancer-afte

For a child undergoing cancer treatment, the hospital ward can be an isolating world of needles, scans, and long stretches away from friends and school. A new cross-sectional study from researchers at Ataturk University in Erzurum, Türkiye, adds a striking psychological dimension to that picture: children with cancer who have difficulty identifying and describing their own emotions— a trait known as alexithymia—also tend to experience markedly higher levels of social anxiety.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network has published the first edition of its NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Pediatric Bone Sarcoma, extending its widely used library of evidence-based treatment recommendations to one of the most challenging cancers of childhood and adolescence. Read more: https://bioengineer.org/new-nccn-guidelines-bring-standardized-care-to-children-with-ewing-sarcoma/

Colorectal cancer in teens is extremely rare. But when cases are diagnosed, they’re often advanced and more difficult to treat. Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/teens-get-colorectal-cancer-s-often-aggressive-form-disease-rcna600995

A nationwide study from Karolinska Institutet shows that genetic testing can identify germline predisposition underlying childhood leukemia. The findings, published in Nature Communications, could help enable more personalized treatment and long-term follow-up. Read more: https://news.ki.se/nationwide-study-identifies-inherited-genetic-risk-factors-in-childhood-leukemia

The study indicates that depression and anxiety are considerably more prevalent among adults who have survived childhood cancer. Read more: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-childhood-cancer-survivors-symptoms-anxiety.html

A study of how cells repair radiation-induced genetic damage offers clues to why some people develop cancer early in life or more than once. Read more: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-childhood-cancer-survivors-cells-dose.html

Many male survivors of childhood cancer do not think they are at increased risk for sexual dysfunction, including some who underwent gonadotoxic chemotherapy or radiation to the pelvis, according to research published in Cancer. Read more: https://www.cancertherapyadvisor.com/news/male-childhood-cancer-survivors-underestimate-sexual-dysfunction/

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and collaborators have identified candidate treatment targets and potential prognostic markers for high-grade glioma, an aggressive brain cancer, in children, adolescents, and young adults. Read more: https://www.mountsinai.org/about/newsroom/2026/study-identifies-candidate-treatment-targets-for-high-grade-glioma-in-children-and-young-adults