Patterns and Trends of Childhood Cancer Incidence (0-14 Years) in Delhi, India: 1990-2014.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the patterns and temporal trends of childhood cancer incidence (0-14 years) in Delhi from 1990 to 2014.

METHODS

The new childhood cancer cases diagnosed between 1990 and 2014 were extracted from the Delhi population-based cancer registry (PBCR). Joinpoint regression analysis was performed to assess the temporal behaviour of new childhood cancer. The magnitude of temporal trend was assessed by estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs).

RESULTS

The Delhi PBCR registered 12,637 cases (8484 boys and 4153 girls) during 1990-2014. The overall childhood cancer was twice in boys than girls (5.62% vs. 2.78%). The age-standardised incidence rates (ASIRs) of childhood cancer adjusted to the WHO World standard population distribution (year 2000) was 163 per one million in boys and 92 per one million in girls; median age at diagnosis being 6 and 7 years, respectively. Five-top childhood cancer sites was leukaemia, lymphoma, central nervous system (CNS), bone and retinoblastoma. A decreasing linear trend in proportion of new childhood cancer cases to total all age-group cancer was observed in both sexes during this period. The percentage increase in childhood cancer is similar in both sexes from 1990-94 to 2010-14 (97% vs. 93%). Increasing trend in ASIRs of childhood cancer was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The new childhood cancer cases observed increasing trend during 1990 to 2014. Boys had nearly double the number of childhood cancer cases than girls while population ratio of boys and girls during the same period was 1.14:1.