Pattern of malignancies in children <15 years of age reported in Hadhramout Cancer Registry, Yemen between 2002 and 2014

OBJECTIVES To describe the patterns of childhood cancers in Hadhramout Sector, Yemen between January 2002 and December 2014.  METHODS This descriptive retrospective study was based on secondary data from Hadhramout Cancer Registry, Hadhramout, Yemen. All Yemeni children under age of 15 years, who were diagnosed with  cancer were included. The International Childhood Cancer Classification system was used to categorize cancer types.  RESULTS A total of 406 childhood cancers of both gender less than 15 years of age were reported. These represented 8.5% of all cases registered. The mean age was 7.34 ± 4.18 years. There were 240 males (59.1%) and 166 females (40.9%) with a male to female ratio of 1.4:1. Calculated incidence of cancer in children in this population is 1.9 per 100,000. The predominant age group was 5-9 years (35%) followed by 10-14 years (33.7%), and 0-4 years group (31%). The most common group of malignancies were hematological malignancies accounting for 47% of cases, followed by nervous system malignancies (15%). The most frequently reported cancer types were lymphoma (24%), leukemia (23%), carcinoma (13.1%), and central nervous system (CNS) tumors (11.6%).  CONCLUSIONS There is a lower frequency of childhood cancer in Hadhramout Sector when compared with developed countries. The most common cancers among children were lymphoma, leukemia, carcinoma, and CNS tumors.