Cancer among children and adolescents: Relationship with the poles of agricultural irrigation in the state of ceará, Brazil

Abstract

The scope of this article is to assess the magnitude and the spatial and temporal trend of cancer in children and adolescents and its association with the agricultural irrigation poles in the State of Ceará from 2000 to 2012. This involves ecological research on morbidity and mortality indicators in the State Ceará between 2000 and 2012. The study population was made up of children and adolescents aged from 0 to 19 years diagnosed with cancer. Information was collected in the Hospital Cancer Register and in the Mortality Information System. A total of 3274 cases were treated in CACONs and UNACONs and 2,080 deaths due to neoplasms were identified. In the association of cancer cases with agricultural irrigation poles, it was detected that the highest concentrations of cases are in micro-regions that have irrigation poles. The microregions with the highest concentrations of child and adolescent cancer coincide with the agricultural irrigation poles.