Epidemiology of Childhood Cancer in Northwest Iran

Abstract

This case series study was performed for all 83 children below 14 years old suffering from cancer during2010-2013 who were registered in Ardabil pediatric cancer registry (APCR). The required data were collectedby questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS.19 statistical methods software. Some 51 (61.4%) of cases were male.The mean age of patients was 5.8 years. Of the total, 60 (72.3%) of cases were from urban areas. Results showedthat leukemia with 54.2%, CNS with 12% and neuroblastoma with 8.4% were the most prevalent childhoodmalignancies in Ardabil province. Based on the under 14 year old population estimated from Ardabil province,the cumulative incidence rate was 95.4 patients per one million. The incidence rate was relatively high so thatchildhood cancers should be considered as an important issue in health policy making in Ardabil province ofIran.