Abstract

BackgroundEvidence from our recent study suggested that the overall trend for cancer incidence in children and adolescents has been increasing in Taiwan.MethodsTo analyze geographic variations in this trend, cancer frequencies and incidence rates of disease groups were quantified according to geographic areas among 12,633 patients aged <20 years during 1995–2009 by using the population-based Taiwan Cancer Registry. Three geographic levels were defined, namely county or city, region (Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern Taiwan), and local administrative area (special municipality, provincial city, county-administered city, township, and aboriginal area).ResultsOf the regions, Northern Taiwan had the highest incidence rate at 139.6 per million person-years, followed by Central (132.8), Southern (131.8), and Eastern (128.4) Taiwan. Significantly higher standardized rate ratios (SRRs) were observed in Northern Taiwan (SRR = 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02–1.10) and at the township level (SRR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.03–1.11). Of the cities or counties, New Taipei City yielded the highest SRR (1.08), followed by Taipei City (SRR = 1.07). A comparison of the rates in the four regions and the remainder of Taiwan according to cancer type revealed that only the rate of neuroblastomas in Eastern Taiwan was significantly low. Trend analysis showed that the most significant increase in incidence rate was observed at the township level, with an annual percent change of 1.8% during the 15-year study period.ConclusionsThe high rate of childhood cancer in Northern Taiwan and at the township level deserves further attention. The potential impacts of environmental factors on the upward trend of childhood cancer incidence rate in townships warrant further investigation.

Highlights

  • Evidence from our recent study revealed that overall rates of cancer in children and adolescents increased by 1% annually during 1995 and 2009 in Taiwan [1]

  • Evidence from our recent study suggested that the overall trend for cancer incidence in children and adolescents has been increasing in Taiwan

  • Regarding the quality of Taiwan Cancer Registry (TCR) data for the age group of 0–19 years [1], according to the quality indicators defined by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the percentage of death certificate-only cases decreased by approximately 10%, from 10.3% in 1995 to 0.6% in 2009

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Summary

Methods

To analyze geographic variations in this trend, cancer frequencies and incidence rates of disease groups were quantified according to geographic areas among 12,633 patients aged

Results
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Hepatic tumors
Discussion
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