ABSTRACT
The Jordanian Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network [EMPHNET] hosted the Seventh Global Scientific Conference of the Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network [TEPHINET] in Jordan in November 2012. This was the first time this Conference was held in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The Conference theme was [communicable and noncommunicable diseases: public health challenges and successes]. Over 400 participants including field epidemiology training program residents, graduates and public health officials from 66 countries attended the Conference as well as 187 people from 57 countries who attended the conference sessions on line. The programme included 121 oral and 130 poster presentations in addition to 5 pre-conference workshops and 9 roundtable discussions. All sessions were recorded and virtually broadcasted and made available on line. The Conference succeeded in creating opportunities for dialogue between residents and graduates of field epidemiology training programmes and public health stakeholders across the region and the globe
Subject(s)
Epidemiology , Public HealthABSTRACT
Marked variations in the incidence of particular types of childhood cancer exist between countries. We report on the geographic variation in the occurrence of childhood cancer in Jordan. Material and Cases were identified from the Jordan National Cancer Registry. We collected data on age, sex, type, primary site, and stage of cancer. Tumor topography and morphology were coded according to the accepted international standard. For all cases registered, 95.2% were histologically diagnosed. Incidence rates were calculated as annual rates per million population. The denominator is the 1997 estimate of the childhood population at ages 0-4, 5-9, and 10-14 years. There were 646 registered primary malignant neoplasms during the three-year study period [1996-1998]. The annual incidence rate for all types of cancer combined was 113 per million children. The rate among children less than 5 years of age was 134.5 per million, for 5-9 years it was 97.8 per million, and for 10-14 years it was 104.1 per million. Overall, the age-standardized annual incidence rate was 113.8 per million. The most common diagnostic group was leukemia, accounting for more than a third of all cases, followed by brain tumors and lymphoma. The highest rate was in the capital, Amman. The pattern of childhood cancer in Jordan seems to be generally similar to other countries in the region, particularly the observed excess of lymphoma. Geographical variations in childhood cancer exist in Jordan and could be partly explained on the basis of lower detection or reporting, or both, in certain locations