Mecneide Mendes Lins1,2,3, Marceli de Oliveira Santos4, Maria de Fátima Pessoa Militão de Albuquerque5, Claudia Cristina Lima de Castro6, Maria Julia Gonçalves Mello7, Beatriz de Camargo8. 1. Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira (IMIP), Recife, PE, Brazil. 2. Instituto Nacional de Cancer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 3. Pediatric Oncology Unit, Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira-IMIP, Recife, PE, Brazil. 4. Divisão de Vigilância e Análise de Situação Coordenação de Prevenção e Vigilância (Surveilance Division and Surveilance and Prevention Coordination Situation of Analysis) at Instituto Nacional do Câncer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 5. Departamento de Saúde Coletiva (Collective Health Department) of CPqAM, FIOCRUZ, Recife, PE, Brazil. 6. Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Recife - Registro de Câncer de Base Populacional, Recife, PE, Brazil. 7. Pediatric Research Center, Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira - IMIP, Recife, PE, Brazil. 8. Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Program, Research Center, Instituto Nacional de Câncer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Leukemia is the most common pediatric cancer with incidence rates of around 48 per million for children under 15 years of age. The median age-adjusted incidence rate (AAIR) in children aged 0-14 years in Brazil is 53.3 per million. While overall survival rates for children with leukemia have improved significantly, data for incidence, trends, and relative survival among children and adolescents with leukemia in Recife, Brazil, remain incomplete, which hampers our analyses and provision of the best healthcare. The objective of this report is to provide that data. METHODS: Data from the Population-Based Cancer Registry of Recife were analyzed from 1998 to 2007. Our analyses included frequencies and AAIR, together with age-specific incidence rates for all leukemias, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and acute myeloid leukemia. To evaluate incidence trends, joinpoint regression, including annual average percent change, were analyzed. Relative survival was calculated using the life-table method. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-five cases were identified, 51% in females. The review reduced the not otherwise specified (NOS) leukemia category by 50% and diagnosis by death certificate only from 5.7% to 1.1%. The AAIR for leukemia was 41.1 per million, with a peak among children aged 1-4 (78.3 per million). Incidence trends during the period were stable. The five-year relative survival rate was 69.8%. CONCLUSIONS: These data represent the incidence rate and survival of childhood leukemia in Recife, located in the northeast region of Brazil, using a high-quality database.
BACKGROUND:Leukemia is the most common pediatric cancer with incidence rates of around 48 per million for children under 15 years of age. The median age-adjusted incidence rate (AAIR) in children aged 0-14 years in Brazil is 53.3 per million. While overall survival rates for children with leukemia have improved significantly, data for incidence, trends, and relative survival among children and adolescents with leukemia in Recife, Brazil, remain incomplete, which hampers our analyses and provision of the best healthcare. The objective of this report is to provide that data. METHODS: Data from the Population-Based Cancer Registry of Recife were analyzed from 1998 to 2007. Our analyses included frequencies and AAIR, together with age-specific incidence rates for all leukemias, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and acute myeloid leukemia. To evaluate incidence trends, joinpoint regression, including annual average percent change, were analyzed. Relative survival was calculated using the life-table method. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-five cases were identified, 51% in females. The review reduced the not otherwise specified (NOS) leukemia category by 50% and diagnosis by death certificate only from 5.7% to 1.1%. The AAIR for leukemia was 41.1 per million, with a peak among children aged 1-4 (78.3 per million). Incidence trends during the period were stable. The five-year relative survival rate was 69.8%. CONCLUSIONS: These data represent the incidence rate and survival of childhood leukemia in Recife, located in the northeast region of Brazil, using a high-quality database.