Pediatric cancer distribution in the State of Puebla

Introduction: At present, in the world, there are approximately 360,000 children with cancer, many of them without social security in developing countries. Materials and methods: In this study, a retrospective analysis was performed of medical records from subjects younger than 21 years of age with cancer who live in extreme poverty and lack social security. The main purpose was to identify a pediatric cancer distribution pattern in the state of Puebla, Mexico, as well as sociodemographic characteristics and main types and incidences of disease. Results: A total of 406 medical records were reviewed; 4 years was the age with the highest rate of diagnosis, and male gender was predominantly affected. The most commonly found malignancy was acute lymphoblastic leukemia, followed by germ cell tumors and acute myeloblastic leukemia, with histiocytosis abnormal behavior also being found. Conclusions: These data are useful for health systems to detect municipalities with higher incidence and this way creates alerts for earlier diagnosis of the disease and thereby increases children survival.