Childhood cancer incidence in India: a review of population-based cancer registries

Abstract

Objectives: To summarize and provide an overview of the childhood cancer incidence reported in 25 population-based cancer registries of India.

Methods: Secondary data on age-adjusted rates of cancer incidence for children (0-14 years) were collected from the report of the National Cancer Registry Programme in the year 2013. range of age-adjusted-rates per million children were tabulated for six regions of the country.

Results: Age-adjusted cancer incidence rates ranged from 18.6 per million to 159.6 per million for boys and 11.3 to 112.4 for girls. The highest incidence was observed for males (159.6) in Southern region of the country and the lowest in North-east in both boys (18.6) and girls (11.3). Leukemia and lymphoma were the commonest malignancies in boys whereas leukemia and brain tumors were commonest in girls.

Conclusion: Childhood cancer incidence appears to be increasing in India.