LONDON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cancer is rising rapidly among children across Europe with up to 17 percent of cases resulted from modern lifestyles and changes in the environment, researchers have found.

In a study, researchers examined 77,111 cases of cancer in children diagnosed between 1978 and 1997 in 15 European countries. The results showed that the number of cases of cancer in children under 14 rose by an average of 1.1 percent a year, The Independent national newspaper reported on Thursday.

There were increases in most childhood cancers including brain tumors, testicular cancer, leukemia, kidney cancer and soft tissuesarcoma (cancer of connective tissue). The study results showed no increase in bone cancer, liver cancer or retinoblastoma.

The trends toward later parenthood, heavier birth-weights and the reduction in infant mortality are thought to be factors behind the rise.

The researchers found that in each successive five-year period, the rate was higher than in the previous five years, with the rate in Europe rising from 120 cases per million in 1978 to 140 in 1997.

Although the increased incidence can only partly be explained by changes in diagnostic methods and by registration artifacts, factors such as changes in lifestyle and exposure to a variety of agents have contributed to the increase, according to the findings.

Eva Steliarova-Foucher, a senior epidemiologist at the International Agency for Cancer Research in Lyon, France, and an author of the study, was quoted as saying: "The rise may be partly due to better detection but not wholly. Other studies have shown older mothers have an increased incidence of leukemia and certain other cancers in their children."

Higher birth-weight has been linked with cancers such as leukemia, kidney cancer and neuroblastoma.

Potential causes of childhood cancer are also suspected to be environmental toxins including pesticides and phthalates in plastics, the researchers said, adding that they had been unable to pinpoint any one factor. Enditem