Childhood cancer among the Polynesian population

Article Abstract:

In terms of human evolution, the Polynesians are the newest race of people, having emerged between 3,000 and 30,000 years ago as a distinct group. There are few large-scale epidemiological studies of Polynesians, however, because the relatively small number of Polynesians, about one million total, are spread throughout a vast area of the Pacific. Most are in small groups on small islands, and only a handful of islands have more than 100,000 Polynesian people. The Princess Mary Hospital, located in New Zealand, is the primary cancer care center for children in New Zealand and serves many of that nation's Maori population, as well as Polynesians from other places. (The Maori are the Polynesian people native to New Zealand.) This hospital may serve, therefore, as the best place for the tabulation of data on the rate of various cancers among Polynesian children. A review of the pediatric cancer cases over an eight-year period revealed that there were significant differences in the epidemiology of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) between Polynesians and non-Polynesian residents of the same area. The overall rate of ALL was lower among the Polynesians. Curiously, similar findings seem to hold for many so-called "preindustrial" cultures, and for underprivileged groups in the United States. However, the Polynesian children with ALL had more serious disease than their non-Polynesian counterparts. Indicators of higher-risk leukemia were more common among the Polynesians and the survival of the Polynesians with ALL was shorter. Long-term survival was observed in 68.1 percent of the non-Polynesian patients, 63.6 percent of the Maori, and in only 20 percent of the Polynesians from other islands. The survival of Polynesian patients with acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia was not significantly different from that of other racial groups. Similarly, no significant differences were found between Polynesians and non-Polynesians in terms of solid tumors. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Diseases, Polynesians

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Incidence and survival rates of children and young adults with osteogenic sarcoma

Article Abstract:

Cancers of bone and cartilage are uncommon, but are the fourth most common cancer in children and young adults. Data from the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) program, established by the National Cancer Institute, were used to investigate the possible influence of gender and race on the incidence and survival of osteogenic sarcoma, a form of bone cancer. The patients were under the age of 25, and the average age at diagnosis was about 15 years. The study found that the incidence of osteogenic sarcoma was higher among blacks than whites, but the difference was not statistically significant. Differences were noted between the survival of male and female patients. Overall, males survived an average of 29 months, while females survived an average of 74 months. When subdivided by sex and race, the average survival times were 94 months for white females; 41 months for black females; 34 months for black males; and 29 months for white males. The reason for these differences is not known. The overall five-year survival for patients with osteogenic sarcoma under the age of 15 was 44 percent. Other studies have found that the average age of onset of osteogenic sarcoma is lower among females than among males. In the present study, the six-month younger average age for female patients was not statistically significant. However, the authors suggest that it might be more physiologically relevant to examine the onset of osteogenic sarcoma in relationship to the prepubertal growth spurt rather than to chronological age. Although more difficult to assess than chronological age, this relationship may establish a difference in onset between boys and girls, since the onset of puberty is an average of two years earlier for girls than for boys. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Sarcoma, Osteosarcoma

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Cancer of the nasopharynx in childhood

Article Abstract:

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has a higher incidence in Southern China than anywhere else in the world. The overwhelming majority of cases occur in adults, and as a consequence there is little information concerning the characteristics of this disease in children. In a review of 54,304 cases of NPC, 53, or just under 0.1 percent, occurred in children under the age of 14. In contrast, the rate of cases of NPC in children may be as high as 5 percent in regions where the overall risk is lower. Among the 53 children, none were seen with Stage I cancer and only four with Stage II cancer. This may be due to a failure to promptly diagnose NPC among younger patients. As is the case in low-risk areas, the survival rate of NPC in Southern China is strongly related to the stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis. This was true among the children in the present study as well; the three year survival was 100, 58, and 17 percent for patients with Stage II, III, and IV disease, respectively. These figures underline the importance of achieving prompt diagnosis in this patient group. However, the overall prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma remains poor. Among the children included in this study, the overall survival fell from 40 percent at three years to 21 percent at five years. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

China, Head and neck cancer, Nose cancer

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