Paediatric cancers at Butare University Teaching Hospital in Rwanda

Abstract

Background: Cancer is an important cause of mortality in many of the economically developed nations of the world. More than 10% of all deaths in children below 15 years of age are caused by malignant diseases in developed countries. In the developing world, childhood cancers are yet to be recognized as a major pediatric illness due to several other competing causes of death like diarrheal illness and respiratory illness.
Methods: A descriptive retrospective study of children admitted for cancer in Butare Teaching Hospital over a 7 years period (January 1999-December 2005) was carried out The study population included 36 children aged 0-15 years admitted with cancer at Butare university teaching Hospital. Data was analyzed using Epi data, SPSS11,5 computer programs.
Results: The average age of our patients was 5.9 years with the youngest patient being 5 month old. The peak incidence of cancer was found in the 0-5 years age group and accounted for 21 patients (58, 3%). The Male to Female sex ratio was 1.7: 1. The most common types of cancer were: Burkett’s lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Treatment included surgery for 17 patients(47.2%), chemotherapy for 4 patients (11.1%), surgery combined with post-operative chemotherapy for 1 patient (2.7%), the association of pre-operative chemotherapy + surgery + post-operative chemotherapy for 1 patient (2.7%) and palliative care for 13 patients (36.1%). The average length of hospital stay was 36.6 days ranging from 2 to 510 days. The hospital mortality rate was 27.7%.
Recommendation: The creation of an oncology department and a National cancer Register are recommended.