Time trends and geographical distribution of childhood leukemia in Basrah, Iraq, from 2004 to 2009

Abstract EN

Objectives : This study aimed to assess the incidence and trend of childhood leukemia in Basrah.

Methods : This was a hospital-based cancer registry study carried out at the Pediatric Oncology Ward, Maternity and Children’s Hospital and other institutes in Basrah, Iraq.

All children with leukemia, aged 0 to 14 years diagnosed and registered in Basrah from January 2004 to December 2009 were included in the study.

Their records were retrieved and studied.

The pattern of childhood leukemia by year of diagnosis, age at diagnosis, morphological subtypes, and geographical distribution was analyzed.

Rates of childhood leukemia over time were calculated for six years using standard linear regression.

Results: The total number of cases of childhood leukemia was 181.

The number of cases ranged from 21 in year 1, to 31 in the final year reaching a peak of 39 in 2006.

Leukemia rates did not change over the study period (test for trend was not significant, P = 0.81).

The trend line shows a shift towards younger children (less than 5 years).

The commonest types of leukemia were acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), then acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and finally chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

Conclusion : Annual rates of childhood leukemia in Basrah were similar to those in other countries with a trend towards younger children.

This raises the question about the effect of environmental catastrophes in the alteration of some specific rates of childhood leukemia, rather than the overall incidence rate.

There is a need for further epidemiological studies to understand the a etiology of childhood leukemia in Basrah