Spectrum of Pediatric Malignancies: An Observational Single Center Study from Western India

Abstract

Cancer is a leading cause of death for children and adolescent worldwide. The cure rates in low middle-income countries are dismal (20%) in comparison to high income countries (80%). The first move is to assemble precise data on epidemiology of pediatric cancer across the country and its region wide variation. This study attempts to provide spectrum of pediatric malignancies from a tertiary care hospital in the state of Rajasthan, India. A total of 140 cases were studied retrospectively over a period of two years (April 2018-March 2020). Patients, 0-18 years of age that are diagnosed as a case of malignancy were included in this study. The records of these patients were retrieved and analyzed. Patients were stratified in 4 groups; 0-4 years, 5-9 years, 10-14 years and 15-18 years. Most of the patients fell in 15-18 year group (35.7%), followed by 5-9 year group (28.5%). Majority of cases, 67.8% were male. The male to female ratio is 2.1:1. Leukemia (40%) was the most common malignancy followed by lymphoma, retinoblastoma and malignant bone tumors. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia comprises majority (35/56) of leukemia. Retinoblastoma was predominant malignancy among <5-year children. In all other groups, leukemia was predominant. This study gauges the trend of pediatric malignancies at one of the largest tertiary care hospitals in Rajasthan, which is important in the planning and evaluation of health strategies. As we lack a dedicated pediatric cancer registry, such epidemiological studies play a significant part for this small but distinguished group of patients.