Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG)

One child in 600 develops cancer – around 1,700 new cases a year in the UK and
Ireland. The types of cancer found are quite different from those in adults and
treatment must take account of the child’s future growth and development.

The Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group was formed in 2006 as a result of the
merger of the UK Children’s Cancer Study Group and the UK Childhood Leukaemia
Working Party, both of which had been in existence since the 1970s. Through the
network of specialist treatment centres, CCLG members aim to provide the best
possible treatment for all children with cancer and leukaemia, wherever they live,
as close to home as possible. Today over 70% of children with cancer are cured
but, until every child can be cured of cancer without serious side effects, further
carefully conducted research is essential. This is the key aim of the CCLG and is
carried out either through clinical trials, in which one treatment is compared to
another, or by basic laboratory research, both of which are underpinned by CCLG
clinician members. For families of a child diagnosed with cancer there is a real
need for reliable information. The CCLG also produces a wide range of publications
for all family members as well as a quarterly magazine, Contact, for families of
children and young people with cancer. These publications can be downloaded
from the CCLG website. Funding and support for CCLG is always required.