CANCER INCIDENCE AND MORTALITY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN PRIMORSKY KRAI FOR THE 2008–2018 PERIOD

Abstract

Background. Cancer is a leading cause of death in children and adolescents worldwide. The cancer incidence rate in children and adolescents has been on the rise for decades. Climatic, geographic and social factors of the region play an important role for cancer incidence.Objective: to analyze the cancer incidence and mortality rates in children and adolescents of Prymorsky krai.Methods. Cancer incidence rates in Russia for 2008–2018 as well as cancer incidence among children treated at the regional pediatric hematology/oncology center (Vladivostok, Russia) for 2014–2019 were analyzed.Results. No statistically significant differences in the cancer incidence rates for the 2008–2018 period between children and adolescents of Primorsky krai and the russian federation in the whole and the far-eastern federal district were found. In in Primorsky krai, there was a variability in the incidence rate during the analyzed period, a negative average annual growth rate in the group of children under 14 years of age (-0.86 %). For the 2008–2018 period, the cancer mortality rate in children and adolescents of Primorsky krai significantly decreased (from 5.65 ‰ in 2008 to 2.6 ‰ in 2018), with the average annual increase rate in children aged 017 years of -9.17 %. In 2014–2019, the quality of cancer detection improved significantly, and the number of children and adolescents with stage iiiiv cancer reduced.Conclusion. Cancer prevention and early detection can potentially reduce the cancer incidence and mortality rates in children and adolescents in Primorsky krai. Population-based cancer registries are needed for quantifying the burden of cancer in children and adolescents and assessing prevention and control programs.