Background and Objectives: Cancer in infancy represents a unique and challenging entity. They differ clinically and biologically from childhood cancer, resulting in different management and outcomes. Cancer epidemiological studies and population-based registries among this age group are limited, herby we aimed to reflect our hospital-based data on the incidence and survival of cancer among infants over a 15-year period. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of infants aged 0 to 12 months diagnosed with hematological malignancies and malignant solid tumors registered in the Pediatric Oncology Department of our university hospital from January 2006 to December 2021. Results: Infant malignancies represented 4.6% of all pediatric malignancies diagnosed at our institute over the same study period. Hematological malignancies accounted for 18.3%, while solid malignant tumors accounted for 81.7%. Retinoblastoma was the most common malignant solid tumor in this study (39.7%), followed by neuroblastoma and germ cell tumor. The 5- and 10-year overall survival rates for hematological and solid tumors were 30.8% and 75.9%, respectively. The overall survival rates were highly significant among solid tumors compared with hematological malignancies ( P ≤0.001). Conclusions: The prevalence of infant malignant tumors varies geographically. This study provides estimates on the incidence and survival rates of cancer among the infant age group in our country. Our overall survival rate was comparable to that reported in the literature. Collaborative research is required to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of infant cancer epidemiology and characteristics, with the aim of improving their prognosis.
Hasan et al. (Wed,) studied this question.