Assessment of childhood cancer at National Oncology Center in Sana'a city, Yemen

Background: No published studies assess childhood cancer and obstacles to receive cancer treatment in Yemen. The aim of this study was to assess childhood cancer and obstacles to receive cancer treatment at National Oncology Center (NOC) in Sana'a city, Yemen. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 119 children with cancer was conducted at the NOC in Sana'a city, Yemen from March to May, 2012. Data was collected through face-to-face interview and retrospectively from patients' files. The data regarding socio-demographic characteristics, medical history of childhood cancer and obstacles to receive cancer treatment were collected by structured questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS. A p-value <0.05 (2-sided) was considered statistically significant. Results: One hundred and nineteen children with cancer and their parents were included in our study. The mean age and SD was 8.7 ± 4.5 years. 63.9% of the participants were boys. Lymphomas were the most common cancer diagnosed, representing 35.3% of all childhood cancers followed by leukemias (22.7%) and malignant bone tumors (12.6%). A high proportion of childhood cancer was diagnosed at advanced stages and constituted for 58%. Tumor grading was mentioned in 25.2% of cases. Histology diagnosis was achieved in 89.1% of cases. 80.7% did not receive cancer treatment on regular basis. Conclusion: The study concluded that at the National Oncology Center, lymphomas were the most common childhood cancer diagnosed, followed by leukemias and malignant bone tumors. The distribution of cancer was more in boys than girls. Poor service was the main obstacle to received cancer treatment regularly. The study recommends that a national cancer registry should be introduced.