Prevalence of childhood Cancer among children attending referral hospitals of outpatient Department in Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction Childhood cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the pediatrics age group. The problem affects both developed and developing countries. A high mortality rate has been observed in low-income counties. Despite its high fatality rate, less attention has been paid to the problem in developing countries, including Ethiopia. For this reason, childhood cancer is not well documented in the study setting. Therefore, we assessed the prevalence of childhood cancer in Ethiopia. Methods Institution based cross-sectional study design from January 1, 2019, to March 30, 2019, was conducted in the pediatrics treatment center. A systematic random sampling technique has used to select 1270 children in the pediatric outpatient department. The data were entered using Epi info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. We checked model fitness for the advanced statistical methods, but it was difficult to proceed with logistic regression model to see the association between dependent and explanatory variables because of the unmet x2 assumption. We presented the results by using tables and figures. Results From the total 1270 study participants, 1257 were included in the final analysis provided that a 98.97% response rate. Out of these, 10(0.8%) children were diagnosed with cancer. Regarding its types, two each, Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, Wilms tumor, Hodgkin lymphoma, and one each non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Parotid cancer, Retinoblastoma, and Breast cancer were reported. The prevalence of childhood cancer was 0.9 and 0.7% among male and female children, respectively. Conclusions Eight children diagnosed with cancer per 1000 children who visited the pediatric outpatient department. Even though childhood cancers have little attention from policymakers, the prevalence of childhood cancer remains prevalent. Therefore, researchers and policymakers shall give special emphasis to childhood cancer.

Stress and coping strategies among parents of children with cancer at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital paediatric oncology unit, Ethiopia: a phenomenological study

“…22 27 Research on parental stress and coping strategies in oncology care in developing countries such as Ethiopia is scarce. Despite the relatively high burden of childhood cancer in Ethiopia, 28 the paediatric oncology unit of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) is the only unit in the country providing comprehensive treatment for paediatric oncology patients. Therefore, many parents are required to travel long distances from every corner of the country and stay in Addis Ababa for extended periods to get treatment for their children.…”

Tick bite induced α‐gal syndrome highlights anticancer effect of allergy

“…Tumors caused by viruses, bacteria, and parasites are frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in the reproductive age too. [24][25][26][27][28] The most important cause of cervical cancer, HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) significantly affects women under 30. [26] The cause adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, HTLV (Human T-lymphotropic Virus), has been reported frequently in patients within the reproductive age.…”

“…[28] In addition, brain cancer and leukaemia are also typical tumors during childhood. [24,25] Consequently, pathogen-induced cancers can exert a strong selective pressure onto the reproductive human population. There are two ways for reaching higher virulence: the first is increasing the level of free virions of carcinogenic viruses, the second is increasing the replication of integrated viruses inside of the dividing cancer cells.…”

Cost and Cost-Effectiveness of Treating Childhood Cancer at Jimma Medical Center

“…1 Additionally, there is a false perception that chronic diseases such as cancer are a disease of adults only and that it does not affect children. 2 However, the truth is any part of the population and any portion of the body can be affected by cancer. 3 Every year approximately 160,000 new cases and 90,000 children die due to cancer.…”