title: Comparison between types of cancer chemotherapies used in a private and a government-based hospital in Mexico.
abstract: We have compared the frequency and types of cancer chemotherapies used in a private hospital and in a government-based hospital in Mexico City. A retrospective study was conducted from January 2005 to December 2007, and therapeutic management determined in 415 cases reviewed by the attending physicians of the oncology service. In the government-based hospital, 60 different types of cancer were found among 273 patients diagnosed. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) had the greatest incidence (30%), followed by Hodgkin's lymphoma (9%), retinoblastoma (7%), neuroblastoma (6%), and osteosarcoma (6%). The entire number of chemotherapy sessions was 7575. Drugs most frequently employed included etoposide (577), followed by methotrexate (575), vincristine (483), cyclophosphamide (312), and cytarabine (277). The economic status among these patients was mainly of limited resources and represented 80% of the total number of patients. The types of cancer found in the private hospital were similar, however the drugs used were predominantly cyclophosphamide (416), doxorubicin (382), 5-fluorouracil (368), paclitaxel (237) and cisplatin (128). The types of cancer were similar in both hospitals and reflected the incidence among the entire population in Mexico, since acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma and retinoblastoma, were the types most represented. However, the treatment schemes differed; the chemotherapeutic agents used in the private hospital were rather more specific but significantly more expensive than those employed in the government hospital.
authors: Laboratorio Neuroquímica, Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, México D.F., Mexico. solodavid2001@yahoo.com.mx
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Calderón Guzmán
authors: Hugo
authors: H
authors: Juarez Olguín
authors: Angeles
authors: A
authors: Guevara Zempoalteca
authors: Arturo
authors: A
authors: Juárez Jacobo
authors: Lourdes
authors: L
authors: Segura Abarca
authors: Gerardo
authors: G
authors: Barragán Mejía
authors: Ernestina
authors: E
authors: Hernández García
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies