Immunological phenotypic pattern of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in Egypt

Time trend in frequency of occurrence of major immunophenotypes in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia cases as experienced by Cancer Institute, Chennai, south India during the period 1989-2009

“…Our finding was in agreement with other Eastern and African data. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] There was a distinct male predominance among T-ALL cases which conforms to the experience of all other workers. C-ALL cases showed a sharp early age peak at 2-6 years, which is in agreement with other reported data.…”

“…[6,[20][21][22][23]30] The comparison of the relative frequencies of major subtypes indicates similar picture in other developing Asian and African countries during this period. [10][11][12][13][14][15] A comparison of national incidence rates in developed countries gives etiological clues to ALL subtypes. [16,19,30] Incidence rates of childhood ALL varied worldwide with the lowest rates among black African children.…”

“…[4][5][6] A comparison of relative frequencies of major immunosubtypes shows striking differences between developed and developing countries. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Developed countries showed predominance in common acute lymphoblastic leukemia (C-ALL) cases, whereas in developing countries a relative predominance in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and a selective deficit in C-ALL were reported. Socioeconomic and environmental factors are considered to be important determinant of major immunophenotype in pediatric ALL cases in a particular geographic setting.…”

Biological diversity variations of pediatric acute leukemia in Brazil: contribution of immunophenotypic profiles to epidemiological studies

“…4 In the last decade international data compared the relative frequencies of the different subtypes of ALL according to age, sex, ethnicity and social conditions, demonstrating a consistent selective deficit of common ALL (c-ALL) in children living in less developed countries. 5,6 These data parallel the apparent increase in the incidence of c-ALL in the UK, USA and in Japan earlier in the last century and the significant association between the childhood peak of ALL and socioeconomic status within modern communities. 7,8 Additional research in the United Kingdom and France has revealed highly significant associations with population mixes and other demographic features that are considered to reflect a possible infectious etiology.…”

Time trend: The mighty teacher

“…[1] As compared to published western literature, the relative frequency of individual types of ALL has been shown to be different in a resource-limited setting like that of India and Egypt. [2] Patient characteristics from three major centers in India treating pediatric ALL were published in 2005 and showed a significant difference in the number of patients presenting with pre-T ALL [Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), Mumbai -20.7% of 652; All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi -31.8% of 228; and Cancer Institute (CI-WIA), Chennai -43.1% of 168 patients]. [3] To put these figures into perspective, one needs to consider the drainage area that these individual centers cater to.…”