[Cancer epidemiology in children and adolescents at private health care (1995-2004)].
OBJECTIVE
our aim was to report the frequency of cancer among a group of children from families having an income above the national average, with attention to adolescents, and to analyze time elapsed from the onset of signs or symptoms up to diagnosis confirmation.


METHODS
data related to new cancer cases were reviewed from January, 1995 to December, 2004, according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancers. Frequency was analyzed according age and neoplasm group. The time elapsed until confirm a diagnosis was analyzed for each tumor class.


RESULTS
61 cases were analyzed, 42 in a group under 14-year-old, and 19 in the group of 14-19-year-old. Three most common neoplasms found in children under 14-year-old were: central nervous system tumors (29.5%), leukemia (23%), and bone tumors (14.8%); and in the other group were: central nervous system tumors (26.3%), lymphomas (21.1%), and bone tumors (15.8%). The time elapsed from the onset of signs and symptoms until the histopathology diagnosis for leukemia was less than a month in 71.4% of the population under study, while for solid tumors was one to six months in 44.6% of the population study.


CONCLUSIONS
the frequencies for different neoplasm groups in children under private health care, were similar to those reported on developed countries, and they were different to reported on Mexican population receiving public health care, which suggests the existence of different risk factors due to socioeconomic status.
Rendón-Macías
Mario Enrique
ME
Servicio de Pediatría, Hospital Español de México, Distrito Federal. mario.rendon@imss.gob.mx
Ramos-Becerril
Cintia
C
Bernardez-Zapata
Isabel
I
Iglesias-Leboreiro
José
J
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017149:Private Sector; D055815:Young Adult