Hematologic malignancies in children: Epidemiological aspects in the pediatric oncology department of Oran Anti-Cancerous center, Algeria (2009-2013)

The incidence of the hematological malignacies, cancers of blood and lymphoid organs, has been in continuous increase for the last 20 years. In Algeria, few data on hematologic malignancies are available in the absence of a population register. The aim of this work is to describe the epidemiological aspect of hematologic malignancies in children from northwestern Algeria. This study was carried out in 366 patients, with hematological malignancies, aged from 1 month to 15 years, over a period of 5 years (2009-2013). The study was carried out in the Anti-Cancerous Centre of Oran, Algeria. We noted a predominance of male gender comparing to the females with a sex ratio M/F of 1.2. A male predominance was found for all pathologies (sex ratio of 1.08 for acute lymphoid leukemia, ALL) except for acute myeloid leukemia, AML where a female predominance was observed with a sex ratio F/M of 1.21. 0-3 years age group is the most affected by these haemopathies with 34.2%, however, patients older than 10 years are the least affected. The most frequent malignant haemopathies was the ALL with 60.9%, followed by the AML with 16.9%. The mortality rate in all the studied patients is about 8.2%. The mortality rate in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was about 20%, which is significantly higher compared to those recorded in patients with ALL and LH (5.4% and 5%, respectively). This study highlights the need for broader strategies for better understanding of all epidemiological aspects of childhood hematological malignancies and for adopting case management and prevention policies. Keywords: Hematologic malignancies, epidemiological characteristics, children, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Oran anti cancerous centre.