Most anticancer drugs that enter clinical testing in children and adolescents fail to reach late-phase trials or earn pediatric regulatory approval, according to the authors of new research. Read more: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/few-pediatric-cancer-drugs-reach-phase-3-or-approval-2026a1000fsh?src=rss&form=fpf

New research has endorsed a long‑standing idea explaining why acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) – the most common cancer in children – appears abruptly in early life, often in otherwise healthy individuals, with no obvious environmental trigger. Read more: https://www.icr.ac.uk/about-us/icr-news/detail/childhood-leukaemia-and-germs--research-reveals-the-critical-importance-of-timing

Researchers investigating neuroblastoma – a cancer that primarily affects babies and children under five – have discovered that tetracaine, a long‑established local anaesthetic, can significantly suppress the cancer cells’ ability to invade surrounding tissue in laboratory experiments. Read more: https://www.icr.ac.uk/about-us/icr-news/detail/local-anaesthetic-shows-promise-in-blocking-childhood-cancer-spread--study-finds

For pediatric brain tumor survivors (PBTS), the necessity and challenge of sustaining meaningful friendships is more pronounced due to differences in social, emotional and neurocognitive abilities, areas collectively called psychosocial functioning. Read more: https://www.stjude.org/research/progress/2026/understanding-best-friendships-and-psychosocial-health-in-pediatric-brain-tumor-survivors.html

In study published in Environmental Pollution, the researchers examined one specific source of air pollution—gas stations—and their connection to cancer risk in children. Read more: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-gas-station-childhood-cancer.html

Led by experts including Dr. David O'Connor (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health), the study found children and young people with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) can be treated safely with significantly less intensive chemotherapy. Read more: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-gentler-blood-cancer-treatment-boost.html

Blocking energy production pathways in an aggressive type of brain cancer in children could be a promising new therapeutic strategy, according to research in mice by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center investigators. Read more: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/2026/04/blocking-energy-metabolism-may-help-treat-aggressive-pediatric-brain-tumor

A troubling new study from MIT reveals that a common environmental contaminant, NDMA—found in polluted water, certain medications, and even processed foods—may pose a far greater cancer risk to children than adults. Read more: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260428045546.htm

A research team identified three genes connected to a rare form of childhood leukaemia and found that clinically available drugs had a positive influence on these genes in tests on mice, increasing rates of survival. Read more: https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/repurposed-drugs-could-improve-treatment-for-rare-infant-leukaemia/68964/

A new liquid biopsy test using artificial intelligence models could help spot a rare type of bone and soft tissue cancer that predominantly affects children and adolescents. The test is being developed by researchers funded by British charity Cancer Research UK for Ewing sarcoma, a rare cancer with a high risk of spreading that can evade modern scanning techniques. Read more: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/blood-test-powered-ai-shows-early-promise-monitoring-rare-child