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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol 2009; 30(03): 95-98
DOI: 10.4103/0971-5851.64253
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Childhood cancers in a referral hospital in northern Nigeria

A Mohammed
Department of Pathology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika-Zaria, Nigeria
,
H O Aliyu
Department of Pathology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika-Zaria, Nigeria
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Abstract

Background:We undertook this study to determine the relative frequencies of childhood malignancies and their age - sex distribution in this environment.Materials and Methods:Hospital-based data of histological and cytologically confirmed cases of malignancies in children, aged ≤ 15 years, was collated over a period of 11 years, from the Cancer Registry.Results:A total of 329 children aged ≤ 15 years, with confirmed malignant disease, was recorded. This constituted 8.44% of all malignancies diagnosed in the same period with a Male : Female ratio of 1.5:1. Burkitt′s lymphoma accounted for 27.01% of the cases followed by retinoblastoma (17.02%), non-Hodgkin′s non-Burkitt′s Lymphoma (9.42%), and Rhabdomyosarcoma (9.42%). Others were Nephroblastoma (8.81%), Hodgkin′s lymphoma (6.69%), Neuroblastoma (3.34%), Colorectal carcinoma (2.43%), Osteosarcoma (2.13%), and Unspecified lymphomas (1.82%). Burkitt′s lymphoma was most prevalent in the 5-9 and 10-15 year age groups, retinoblastoma in the 0-4 year age group, and Non-Hodgkin′s lymphoma, Hodgkin′s lymphoma, and unspecified carcinomas were more prevalent in the 10-15 year age group.Conclusion:Lymphomas were the most prevalent malignancies of childhood seen in this region and the majority were of the Burkitt type, in contrast to the predominant leukemic and central nervous system trend seen in developed nations.

Keywords

Childhood cancers - lymphoma - Nigeria


Publication History

Article published online:
19 November 2021

© 2009. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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