Childhood cancer mortality trends in Brazil, 1979-2008

OBJECTIVES: Childhood cancer mortality has substantially declined worldwide as a result of significant advances in global cancer care. Because limited information is available in Brazil, we analyzed trends in childhood cancer mortality in five Brazilian regions over 29 years. METHODS: Data from children 0-14 years old were extracted from the Health Mortality Information System for 1979 through 2008. Age-adjusted mortality rates, crude mortality rates, and age-specific mortality rates by geographic region of Brazil and for the entire country were analyzed for all cancers and leukemia. Mortality trends were evaluated for all childhood cancers and leukemia using joinpoint regression. RESULTS: Mortality declined significantly for the entire period (1979-2008) for children with leukemia. Childhood cancer mortality rates declined in the South and Southeast, remained stable in the Middle West, and increased in the North and Northeast. Although the mortality rates did not unilaterally decrease in all regions, the age-adjusted mortality rates were relatively similar among the five Brazilian regions from 2006-2008. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood cancer mortality declined 1.2 to 1.6% per year in the South and Southeast regions.

Incidência, Mortalidade e Sobrevida de Leucemia e Linfoma no Município de Fortaleza, Ceará

Analisou-se a tendência da incidência e da mortalidade para as leucemias e linfomas em Fortaleza/Ceará e sua distribuição segundo sexo e faixa etária. Estimou-se a sobrevida em cinco anos a partir de dados compilados pelo Registro de Câncer de Base Populacional (RCBP) do Município. A tendência da incidência e a sobrevida foram estimadas a partir das informações do RCBP de Fortaleza (1990-2002) e a tendência da mortalidade (1980-2007) a partir do Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade do Ministério da Saúde. As taxas de incidência e de mortalidade foram padronizadas pela população mundial e as tendências estimadas a partir de modelos de regressão linear. O tempo de sobrevida foi calculado da data do diagnóstico até a data do último contato ou óbito. As probabilidades acumuladas de sobrevida foram calculadas utilizando o estimador produto limite de Kaplan-Meier. Observou-se que as taxas de mortalidade para as leucemias apresentaram uma tendência decrescente durante todo o período, enquanto que, para os linfomas, as taxas mantiveram-se estáveis. Em relação à incidência, nota-se uma tendência decrescente não constante no início do período e, em anos mais recentes, uma estabilização tanto para as leucemias quanto para os linfomas. Das 191 crianças registradas por leucemia e das 78 por linfoma no RCPB de Fortaleza, no período de 01/01/1996 a 31/12/2002, 133 e 56 tiveram seguimento para as leucemias e linfomas, respectivamente. Nestas, a sobrevida em cinco anos foi de 49% para as leucemias e 57% para os linfomas. Esforços objetivando uma melhor estruturação organizacional do registro e a integração de instituições envolvidas (fontes notificadoras, secretarias municipais e estaduais) deverão ser empreendidos visando a imprimir uma maior qualidade nas informações.

We analyzed the trend of incidence and mortality for the leukemia and lymphomas in Fortaleza, Ceará, and its distribution by sex and age. Survival was estimated in five years from data compiled by the Population-Based Cancer Registry (PBCR) in the city. The trend of incidence and survival were estimated from PBCR Fortaleza (1990-2002) database and mortality trends (1980-2007) from the Mortality Information System of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Incidence and mortality rates were adjusted by World Population and trends were estimated from linear regression models. Survival time was calculated from the date of diagnosis to date of last contact or death. Cumulative probabilities of survival were calculated using the product limit estimator of Kaplan-Meier. It was observed that mortality rates for leukemia showed a decreasing trend throughout the period, while for the lymphomas, the rates remained stable. From the incidence, it was observed a not constant downward trend in the early period and a stabilization for both leukemia and lymphomas in more recent years. 191 children were diagnosed with leukemia and 78 with lymphoma, from Jan,1996 to Dec,2002. 133 and 56 were monitored for leukemia and lymphoma, respectively. Five-year survival was 49% for leukemia and 57% for lymphomas. Efforts aiming at a better organizational structure of the record and the integration of institutions involved (notifying sources, city and state) should be undertaken in order to print a higher quality of information.