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. 2017 Jul 24;12(7):e0181805.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181805. eCollection 2017.

Cancer incidence rates and trends among children and adolescents in Piedmont, 1967-2011

Elena Isaevska  1 , Milena Manasievska  1 , Daniela Alessi  1 , Maria Luisa Mosso  1 , Corrado Magnani  2 , Carlotta Sacerdote  1 , Guido Pastore  1 , Franca Fagioli  3 , Franco Merletti  1 , Milena Maule  1
Affiliations

Cancer incidence rates and trends among children and adolescents in Piedmont, 1967-2011

Elena Isaevska et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

In the past, increases in childhood cancer incidence were reported in Europe and North America. The aim of this study is to show updated patterns of temporal behavior using data of the Childhood Cancer Registry of Piedmont (CCRP), a region with approximately 4.5 million inhabitants in North-West Italy. CCRP has been recording incident cases in children (0-14 years) since 1967 and in adolescents (15-19) since 2000. Time trends were estimated as annual percent change (APC) over the 1976-2011 period for children, and over 2000-2011 for both children and adolescents. CCRP registered 5020 incident cases from 1967 to 2011. Incidence rates were 157 per million person-years for children (1967-2011) and 282 for adolescents (2000-2011). From 1976-2011, increasing trends were observed in children for all neoplasms (APC 1.1, 95%CI: 0.8; 1.5) and for both embryonal and non-embryonal tumors: 1.1%, (0.5; 1.6) and 1.2%, (0.7; 1.6), respectively. Increases were observed in several tumor types, including leukemia, lymphoma, central nervous system tumors and neuroblastoma. In 2000-2011, incidence rates showed mostly non statistically significant variations and large variability. The observation of trends over a long period shows that the incidence of most tumors has increased, and this is only partially explained by diagnostic changes. Large rate variability hampers interpretation of trend patterns in short periods. Given that no satisfying explanation for the increases observed in the past was ever found, efforts must be made to understand and interpret this peculiar and still ununderstood pattern of childhood cancer incidence.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Childhood Cancer Registry of Piedmont 1967–2011: Incidence rates in children and adolescents by 3 year periods.
(Data for adolescents available from 2000).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Childhood Cancer Registry of Piedmont 1967–2011: Incidence rates in children and adolescents by single year of age.
(Data for adolescents available from 2000).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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