Sapporo Medical Journal

Abstract : Objectives: To determine the incidence rate of childhood cancer and its trends in Thi-Qar, Iraq during 2012-2018. Methods: This registry based descriptive study included children aged 0-14 years with newly diagnosed primary cancers in Thi-Qar during 2012-2018. The types of cancers were classified according to the ICCC-3. The overall and specific incidence rates by age and sex were calculated per 100,000 children. JoinPoint software was used to examine the magnitude, direction, and change of incidence trends. Results: For the years 2012-2018, 633 new cases [349 (55.1%) boys and 284 (44.9%) girls, with ratio of 1.23:1] were registered among children aged <15 years. Children aged ≤4 years accounted for 41.5% of patients. The average annual incidence rate was 11.14/100,000 (ASIR was 12.00/100,000 children per year). The incidence rate increased from 7.61/100,000 in 2012 to 14.62/100,000 in 2018 at an annual percent change (APC) of 6.9%. Boys showed higher incidence rate than girls (11.93 vs. 10.30/100,000, p-value=0.02). The incidence rate was highest for children ≤4 years. Leukemia was the most common type of cancer accounting for 33.02%/%, followed by CNS neoplasms (15.48%), and lymphomas (14.53%). Conclusion: The incidence rate of childhood cancer in Th-Qar is increasing with time. It is comparable to that reported for developing countries but there is a shift of cancer types' distribution similar to that in developed countries.