Frequency of cancer in children residing in Mexico City and treated in the hospitals of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (1996–2001)

Abstract

Background: The objective of this article is to present the frequency of cancer in Mexican children who were treated in the hospitals of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Mexico City (IMSS-MC) in the period 1996-2001.

Incidence of cancer in children residing in ten jurisdictions of the Mexican Republic: importance of the Cancer registry (a population-based study)

“…It is noteworthy that, in comparison to previous reports for the children residing in Mexico City, not only the frequency (10.7, 9.0, and 3.1% in 1991, 1992–1993, and 1996–2002, respectively) but also the incidence (6.5, 7.7, and 3.6 per 1,000,000 children/year for these same time periods) apparently fell spontaneously [14,15,26]. This phenomenon is consistent with that mentioned by Linet et al .…”

“…Thus, at first glance, the high value for Chiapas may be thought to have resulted from the denominator having been underestimated. However, two factors led us to consider otherwise: Prior studies have demonstrated a high frequency of cancers, such as retinoblastoma, in Chiapas [16,25,26], and the pathologists of the Pediatric Hospital of Medical Center "Siglo XXI" have commented on their impression that cases of the rarest types of cancer in children were found in Chiapas (personal communication). Such was the case in the present work as, in Chiapas, both the frequency (3.5%) and the incidence (5.9 per 1,000,000 children/year) of carcinomas (usually the least frequent among cases of childhood cancers) were found not only to be higher than those of any of the other ten jurisdictions, but also to be one of the highest reported in the world [5,6,11].…”

Incidence of leukemias in children from El Salvador and Mexico City between 1996 and 2000: Population-based data

“…This is due to the fact that, because BB is the only hospital in El Salvador that attends children with leukemia, any child with presumed leukemia is referred to that institution [16]. Similarly, in Mexico City, HP and HG are the only hospitals of the IMSS that attend the children with leukemia whose parents have rights to receive medical services from IMSS [17]. …”

“…Prospective records of those children treated for leukemia was initiated in El Salvador in 1994 and in Mexico City in 1996 [16,17]. In Mexico City, the record was kept in the hospitals of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), an institution that attends about 50% of the population inhabiting Mexico City [7].…”

“…In El Salvador, because the record was kept by the Hospital Nacional de Niños "Benjamín Bloom" (BB), the only center in the country which attends all children, younger than 12 years with oncologic disease, data on the population base which was necessary for calculating the incidence rate was available. Treatment of children with leukemia is completely free of charge both in El Salvador and at the IMSS in Mexico City, thus allowing a greater coverage for children with this disease [16,17]. …”