Incidence Profile of Leukemias, Lymphomas, Central Nervous System Tumors and Soft-Tissue Sarcomas in Children and Adolescents in a Brazilian City

Abstract

Objectives: To identify the profile of incidence of Leukemias, myeloproliferative diseases, and myelodysplastic diseases; Lymphomas and reticuloendothelial neoplasms; CNS and miscellaneous intracranial and intraspinal neoplasms and Soft tissue and other extraosseous sarcomas, in children and adolescents (aged ≤ 19) living in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: This is an epidemiological study with data from medical records between 1996 and 2005, using the form of Population-based Cancer Registry of Campinas-SP, Brazil. Differences were identified among the groups and the spatial cluster analysis was conducted. Results: The Leukemia cases were more representative (50%) than the others, followed by Lymphomas (22%), CNS (21%) and Soft Tissue (7%). In terms of sociodemographic variables, gender (p=0.03) and age (p<0.01) were significantly associated with cancer in the study groups. According to the spatial distribution of the cases, the Health Districts had a non-homogeneous distribution. Conclusions: The distribution and characteristics of the diagnoses of the study groups were similar to the results of other studies on the subject. The incidence profile can help increase awareness of the occurrences and improve the healthcare planning.