OBJECTIVETo understand the incidence trend of malignant tumors in children aged <15 years in Shanghai.

METHODSThe <15 years old children diagnosed with cancer in Shanghai between 2009 and 2011 were included in this study. The types of malignant tumors were classified according to International Classification of Childhood Cancer, Version 3 (ICCC-3). The gender and age specific incidences of malignant tumors were analyzed. Software Joinpoint was used to calculate the annual percentage of childhood cancer cases.

RESULTSA total of 460 cases of childhood cancer were diagnosed in Shanghai during 2009-2011, accounting for 0.3% of total cancer cases. The crude incidence was 129.0 per million and the age standardized rate (ASR) was 129.6 per million. The ASR was higher in boys (142.1 per million) than in girls (116.4 per million). The boy to girl ratio was 1.2(95%CI: 1.0-1.5). The incidence was highest in age group <5 years (165.1 per million). The incidences in age groups 5-9 years and 10-14 years were 101.2 per million and 113.9 per million, respectively. Leukemia was the most common cancer in children (n=165, 35.9%, ASR: 47.0 per million), followed by central nervous system tumors (n=91, 19.8%, ASR: 25.6 per million) and lymphomas (n=45, 9.8%, ASR: 12.6 per million). The age and gender specific incidence of malignant tumors and the type specific incidence of malignant tumors in children in Shanghai had no significant changes during the study period.

CONCLUSIONSThe incidence of malignant tumors was higher in boys than in girls in Shanghai. Leukemia, central nervous system tumors and lymphomas were the three most common cancers in children. The overall incidence of malignant tumors in children in Shanghai had no significant changes during 2002-2011.