Wasil Jastaniah1, Mohammed F Essa2, Walid Ballourah3, Ibrahim Abosoudah4, Saad Al Daama5, Ali H Algiraigri6, Ibrahim Al Ghemlas7, Mohammad Alshahrani8, Abdulrahman Alsultan9. 1. College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Umm AlQura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; Princess Noorah Oncology Center, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: wasilj@yahoo.com. 2. King Abdullah Specialist Children's Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 3. Department of Pediatric Hematology /Oncology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 4. Department of Oncology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 5. King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. 6. Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Section, Department of Hematology, College of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 7. Faculty of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 8. Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Ministry of Defiance, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 9. Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The incidence of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) varies between countries likely as a result of competing risks including infections, access-to-care, socioeconomic influences, and/or ethnicity. However, little is known about disease burden in high-income Arab countries offering free-of-charge healthcare. The hypothesis was that, due to population characteristics (young age, high fertility and parental consanguinity rate), the incidence of cALL in Saudi Arabia is equal or higher than that observed in high-income Western countries. METHODS: Saudi databases were used to calculate the incidence of cALL from 2001 to 2014. Incidence trends over time of children with ALL, 14-years of age or younger, were analyzed and compared with those reported in USA. RESULTS: The age-adjusted incidence over the years was lower in Saudi Arabia compared to USA. However, the incidence trend of cALL in Saudi Arabia was increasing at a rate higher than that observed in USA (p < 0.001). The overall incidence of cALL in Saudi Arabia increased from 1.58/100,000 in 2001 to 2.35/100,000 population in 2014. The median annual increase was 4.58 %. The incidence in males increased from 1.88 to 2.71/100,000, and from 1.21 to 1.86/100,000 population in females. CONCLUSIONS: The reported incidence of cALL in Saudi Arabia is rapidly increasing. The increasing trend may reflect evolving socioeconomic structure, improved access-to-cancer care, and improved diagnosis/ reporting capacity. This highlights the need for better understanding of cALL causes and the need for the formation of separate national pediatric cancer registries in different countries to monitor childhood cancer incidence trends.
INTRODUCTION: The incidence of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) varies between countries likely as a result of competing risks including infections, access-to-care, socioeconomic influences, and/or ethnicity. However, little is known about disease burden in high-income Arab countries offering free-of-charge healthcare. The hypothesis was that, due to population characteristics (young age, high fertility and parental consanguinity rate), the incidence of cALL in Saudi Arabia is equal or higher than that observed in high-income Western countries. METHODS: Saudi databases were used to calculate the incidence of cALL from 2001 to 2014. Incidence trends over time of children with ALL, 14-years of age or younger, were analyzed and compared with those reported in USA. RESULTS: The age-adjusted incidence over the years was lower in Saudi Arabia compared to USA. However, the incidence trend of cALL in Saudi Arabia was increasing at a rate higher than that observed in USA (p < 0.001). The overall incidence of cALL in Saudi Arabia increased from 1.58/100,000 in 2001 to 2.35/100,000 population in 2014. The median annual increase was 4.58 %. The incidence in males increased from 1.88 to 2.71/100,000, and from 1.21 to 1.86/100,000 population in females. CONCLUSIONS: The reported incidence of cALL in Saudi Arabia is rapidly increasing. The increasing trend may reflect evolving socioeconomic structure, improved access-to-cancer care, and improved diagnosis/ reporting capacity. This highlights the need for better understanding of cALL causes and the need for the formation of separate national pediatric cancer registries in different countries to monitor childhood cancer incidence trends.
Authors: Nadyah A Owaidhah; Zakaria Y Khawaji; Mohammed A Alahmadi; Ahmad S Badawi; Ghazi H Mogharbel; Osama N Makhdoom Journal: Cureus Date: 2022-08-19
Authors: Janet Flores-Lujano; David Aldebarán Duarte-Rodríguez; Elva Jiménez-Hernández; Jorge Alfonso Martín-Trejo; Aldo Allende-López; José Gabriel Peñaloza-González; María Luisa Pérez-Saldivar; Aurora Medina-Sanson; José Refugio Torres-Nava; Karina Anastacia Solís-Labastida; Luz Victoria Flores-Villegas; Rosa Martha Espinosa-Elizondo; Raquel Amador-Sánchez; Martha Margarita Velázquez-Aviña; Laura Elizabeth Merino-Pasaye; Nora Nancy Núñez-Villegas; Ana Itamar González-Ávila; María de Los Ángeles Del Campo-Martínez; Martha Alvarado-Ibarra; Vilma Carolina Bekker-Méndez; Rocío Cárdenas-Cardos; Silvia Jiménez-Morales; Roberto Rivera-Luna; Haydee Rosas-Vargas; Norma C López-Santiago; Angélica Rangel-López; Alfredo Hidalgo-Miranda; Elizabeth Vega; Minerva Mata-Rocha; Omar Alejandro Sepúlveda-Robles; José Arellano-Galindo; Juan Carlos Núñez-Enríquez; Juan Manuel Mejía-Aranguré Journal: Front Public Health Date: 2022-09-14