Childhood Leukemia Incidence in Brazil According to Different Geographical Regions

Background Resource rich countries tend to have a higher incidence of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) whereas lower rates are seen in more deprived countries This study describes the incidence of childhood acute leukemia in Brazil an upper middle income country, based on data from 16 population based cancer registries (PBCRs) Procedure Data were examined from 16 PBCRs in Brazilian cities located in five geographical regions during the period from 1997 to 2004 Incidence rates were analyzed according to gender age and type of leukemia The Wilcoxon test was performed to evaluate for gender age based difference between by leukemia type Results The median age adjusted incidence rate (AAIR) of leukemia in children aged 0-14 years old was 53 3 per million A different AAIR was found regarding ALL and myeloproliferative disorders (MPD) that ranged from 24 8 to 76 84 per 1,000,000 children Manaus although located in a poor area of Brazil exhibited the highest AAIR (56 6 per million) of ALL Goiania had the highest AAIR (24 5 per million) of MPD The median age specific incidence rate (ASIR) for the 16 Brazilian PBCRs demonstrated a marked peak in incidence of ALL at age 3 years old, in both genders Conclusions This population based study of childhood leukemia demonstrates that substantial regional differences exist regarding the incidence of acute leukemia in Brazil which warrants further ecological study Pediatr Blood Cancer 2011,56 58-64 (C) 2010 Wiley Liss Inc