Epidemiological Trends and Clinical Characteristics of Childhood Leukemia in Saudi Arabia: A Review

Abstract

Leukemia is the most prevalent type of cancer among children in Saudi Arabia. It has variable clinical presentations and accounts for a large scale of mortality and morbidity. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) constituted the majority of pediatric leukemic cases with male gender predisposition. The most common first presentation that patients come with are manifestations of anemia, thrombocytopenia, and fever. Bone pain, fatigue, weight loss, organomegaly, and pale skin are among the commonest manifestations of pediatric leukemia. Childhood ALL and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) clinical manifestations seem to be very similar, even though there're some considerable differences in how common the clinical characteristics are. Chromosomal abnormalities are taken into consideration to determine survival and treatment. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for the childhood leukemia population in Saudi Arabia. Our review article aims at providing comprehensible and updated statistical data on the different types of leukemia and their clinical presentations in Saudi Arabia.

Estimating the prevalence of pediatric hematological malignancies in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia

“…A recent study analyzed the epidemiological trend of childhood leukemia in Saudi Arabia and discovered that the Riyadh region has the greatest prevalence of childhood leukemia with 578 )28.6%( cases while the Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah region ranks fifth with 142 )7%( cases. 7 By comparing the epidemiological trend of childhood leukemia cases in the Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah region between 1999 and 2008 to our observations obtained between 2016 and 2022, we found a 16.9% rise in the epidemiological trend of leukemia cases in the region.…”

“…6 In contrast, in accordance with the regional distribution of childhood leukemia in Saudi Arabia from 1999 to 2008, the overall number of leukemic cases was 2021, with the Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah region having 142 )7%( cases among all regions, making it more prevalent than some other regions. 7 The present study aimed to provide an updated estimate to the prevalence of pediatric hematological malignancies in the Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between 2016 and 2022 using data that was compiled from an authoritative database of the Maternity and Children's Hospital, King Salman Medical City, Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia.…”

Differences in Vitamin D Levels at Diagnosis and after Induction Phase Chemotherapy in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Tertiary Hospital in West Java Indonesia

“…Research conducted at Hasan Sadikin Hospital showed that the clinical manifestations that often appeared were paleness, hepatomegaly, and fever [10]. A systematic review and meta-analysis study by Clarke at al (2016) showed that the five most common symptoms in >50% of ALL children were hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, pallor, fever, and bruising [16] Meanwhile, a study in Saudi Arabia showed that the most common symptoms in ALL children were fever, fatigue, bone pain, paleness, weight loss, and decreased consciousness [17].…”

Hematological malignancies

“…This places leukemia as the 13 most prevalent cancer type worldwide. 4 The incidence of leukemia in Saudi Arabia likewise exhibited an upward trend over the period of 1999 to 2013, with a total of 8,712 cases reported for both genders. According to the data from the Saudi Cancer Registry (SCR), the majority of patients diagnosed with leukemia were male (57.2%), with 42.8% being female.…”