title: Incidence of cancer in children aged 0-14 years in Taiwan, 1996-2010.
abstract: Studies have found lower risk of childhood cancer among Asian children. We aim to characterize the recent incidence and incidence-trend of childhood cancer in Taiwan after the National Health Insurance program was launched in March 1995. Data were extracted from the Taiwan Cancer Registry, a population-based database established in 1979. Cases diagnosed at age 0-14 from 1996 to 2010 were analyzed and categorized according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer, Third Edition (ICCC-3). In total, 8032 childhood cancer cases were included, with a microscopic verification rate of 93.9%. The overall age-standardized rate (ASR) of incidence adjusted to the 2000 World Standard Population is 125.0 cases/million, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.3. The top five cancer types (ICCC-3 subgroup[s]; ASR per million) are acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ia, 30.3), acute myeloid leukemia (Ib; 9.4), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (IIb,c,e, 9.0), extracranial germ cell tumor (Xb,c; 8.3), and neuroblastoma (IVa; 7.8). The median age of diagnosis was 6 years for both genders. During the study period, the ASR of childhood cancer has been increasing at a rate of 1.2% per year (95% confidence interval, 0.6-1.7%). In contrast to Western countries, China, Japan, and Taiwan have lower incidence of childhood cancer; however, Taiwan's incidence rates of childhood germ cell tumors and hepatic tumors are higher. In conclusion, this population-based study reveals that the incidence rate of childhood cancer in Taiwan is rising consistently. The high incidence of germ cell tumors warrants further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; PhD of Translational Medicine Program, National Taiwan University and Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Lin
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Taiwan Cancer Registry, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Cheng
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Taiwan Cancer Registry, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Ju
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Taiwan Cancer Registry, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ya-Wen
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Meng-Yao
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Ming
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Pediatrics, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, Xinzhuang, New Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wan-Ling
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsinchu City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Meng-Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Miser
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: dtlin@ntuh.gov.tw.
authors.forename: Dong-Tsamn
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Taiwan Cancer Registry, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: mslai@ntu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Mei-Shu
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lai
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009313:National Health Programs; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D009373:Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012042:Registries; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Cancer; Child; Incidence; Infant; Registries; Taiwan