Abstract
Background: Epidemiological studies of paediatric cancer incidence in Sudan are rare.Objectives: The aim of this study was to provide baseline information about the epidemiology of childhood cancers in patients treated at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Wad Medani, Sudan.Methods: We performed a retrospective health facility–based study of cancer incidence and patient characteristics of children who were treated at the NCI from January 1999 to December 2015. The changing patterns of cancers incidence during the study period were also recorded.Results: Of 15 387 new patients with cancer who were registered at the NCI during the study period, 1159 (7.5%) were children (younger than 15 years). The mean age of the paediatric patients was 7 years, with standard deviation of 5. Most of the patients (36%) were 10 to 15 years old, 33% were 0 to 4 years old and 31% were 5 to 10 years old. Among the study population, 60% were males and 40% were females. Approximately 76% of children lived in rural areas in Sudan. Leukaemias (29%) and lymphomas (26%) comprised 55% of all paediatric cancers. Central nervous system (CNS) tumours constituted 6% of all paediatric tumours, whereas non-CNS embryonal tumours (i.e. nephroblastoma, neuroblastoma, hepatoblastoma and retinoblastoma) accounted for 20%. The average number of cases per year increased from 42 in 1999–2005 to 75 in 2006–2010 and 106 in 2011–2015.Conclusion: The number of patients seeking treatment for childhood cancers has increased every year in central Sudan. Leukaemias and lymphomas constitute more than half of these cancers. A population-based cancer registry is needed to determine the true incidence of childhood cancers in Sudan.
Highlights
Childhood cancers are entities distinct from those occurring in adults
This finding is similar to those of a previous study in Sudan, in which childhood cancers constituted approximately 7% of all cancer cases registered in the state of Khartoum from 2009 to 2010.20 This is comparable with reports from other sub-Saharan African countries, where the proportion of childhood cancer out of all cancers varies between 1.4% and 10%
We found that the majority of children with lymphomas were older than 5 years, which is similar to the findings of a recent report from Yemen.[29]
Summary
Childhood cancers are entities distinct from those occurring in adults They are relatively rare, comprising less than 1% of malignant diseases.[1] Marked differences in the incidence rates of childhood cancers are apparent in developed and developing countries.[2,3] Of the estimated 250 000 children in whom cancer is diagnosed every year, approximately 200 000 live in countries with limited resources.[4] In Africa, approximately 50 000 new cases of childhood cancer are diagnosed every year.[5]. The most common malignant neoplasms among children in developed countries are leukaemia and central nervous system (CNS) tumours.[2] In Africa, CNS tumours are largely outnumbered by leukaemias and lymphomas.[6,7] Geographic variations in the incidence rates at which different types of childhood cancers occur may suggest that genetic or environmental factors influence disease susceptibility.[8] In many LMICs, the low incidence of some childhood tumours (especially brain tumours) is generally the consequence of failing to diagnose. Epidemiological studies of paediatric cancer incidence in Sudan are rare
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