[On the histology of malignant tumours in infants and children (author's transl)]

Abstract

Autopsy and biopsy material obtained between 1967 and 1976 at the Institute of General Pathology and Pathological Anatomy of the Medical Academy Erfurt included 260 malignant tumours in infants and children. Male to female ratio was 54.6:45.4. There were slight peaks for the fourth and sixth year of life. The most frequent site was the CNS (44.2%), followed by the haematopoetic-lymphatic system (28.1%), skeletal system (7.7%), sympathetic nervous system including adrenal medulla (6.2%) and kidneys (4.6%). Among tumour types the neurogenic ones were most frequent at 50.8%, followed by leukaemias (18.1%) sarcomas (12.3%), malignant non-Hodgkin lymphomas (7.3%) and mixed tumours (6.5%). Comparing these results with those quoted in the literature and earlier personal studies indicates that the higher frequency of CNS tumours is probably due to regional factors. Linked to this is a percentage increase of neurogenic tumours and a relative decrease in leukaemias. Additional changes in distribution among the different forms of tumour are due to the introduction of the group of malignant non-Hodgkin lymphomas.