Dinkiye Mamude, Abdissa Deme, Hailu Tadele, Shad Aziza T, Unguru Yoram
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, School of Medicine, Saint Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, The Herman and Walter Samuelson Children's Hospital at Sinai, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Cancer Rep (Hoboken). 2025 May;8(5):e70222. doi: 10.1002/cnr2.70222.
Pediatric solid tumors are a significant health challenge worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries such as Ethiopia, where healthcare infrastructure is limited and treatment modalities are scarce.
This study aims to understand the epidemiological characteristics of these tumors and short-term treatment outcomes.
A retrospective study spanning a period of 2 years and 8 months was conducted among all children below age 15 years admitted to St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College hemato-oncology unit with a pediatric solid tumor. Data from patient charts was extrapolated and analyzed using SPSS version 29. A total of 173 pediatric solid tumor patients were identified over the study period. 22.6% of patients were treated in the first year, 34.6% of patients were treated in the second year, and 42.8% of patients were treated in the last 8 months of the study period. 56.1% of them were males. Most patients came from the Oromia region. The most frequent solid tumors were retinoblastoma, Wilms tumor, and rhabdomyosarcoma. Eighty-six patients are still on treatment, 23 patients achieved complete remission, 4 relapsed, 2 were defaulters, 5 patients were lost to follow-up, 21 died, 5 were referred to other hospitals, and 10 opted against treatment.
The study reveals a rising trend in childhood solid tumor cases over the years. A significant proportion of patients achieved remission, whereas most remain under treatment or follow-up care. A relatively small percentage experienced relapses, with some cases of defaulters, loss to follow-up, and a few instances of mortality. Implementing early detection strategies and community-based awareness programs could improve outcomes by encouraging timely diagnosis and intervention.
儿童实体瘤是全球重大的健康挑战，尤其是在埃塞俄比亚等低收入和中等收入国家，那里的医疗基础设施有限，治疗方式稀缺。
本研究旨在了解这些肿瘤的流行病学特征和短期治疗结果。
对圣保罗医院千禧医学院血液肿瘤科收治的所有15岁以下患有儿童实体瘤的患儿进行了一项为期2年8个月的回顾性研究。从患者病历中提取数据并使用SPSS 29版进行分析。在研究期间共确定了173例儿童实体瘤患者。22.6%的患者在第一年接受治疗，34.6%的患者在第二年接受治疗，42.8%的患者在研究期的最后8个月接受治疗。其中56.1%为男性。大多数患者来自奥罗米亚地区。最常见的实体瘤是视网膜母细胞瘤、肾母细胞瘤和横纹肌肉瘤。86例患者仍在接受治疗，23例患者实现完全缓解，4例复发，2例失访，5例患者失访，21例死亡，5例转诊至其他医院，10例选择放弃治疗。
该研究揭示了多年来儿童实体瘤病例呈上升趋势。相当一部分患者实现了缓解，而大多数患者仍在接受治疗或随访。复发的比例相对较小，有一些失访病例、失访情况，还有少数死亡病例。实施早期检测策略和基于社区的提高认识项目可以通过鼓励及时诊断和干预来改善结果。
