The number of new cases of malignant tumors in children in 2016 went up. In the Republic of Moldova, the ratio of children younger than 17 to new cases of malignant tumors is 100,000:13.5, as opposed to 8.8 cases in 2012. Doctors of the Chisinau Oncological Institute confirm that the number of registered children with malignant tumors has increased during the last few years.
Oncologists say cancer “has grown younger”. More children now go to the Oncological Institute for diagnosis because the family doctors more often refer children with suspected malignancies to oncologist-pediatricians given that the number of people with cancer rises annually and the responsibility and fear for having cancer increased. The people themselves often go to specialists of the Oncological Institute for consultations, the Institute says in a response to an inquiry by IPN News Agency.
Specialists say that owing to the current modern treatment, the survival rate in children with malignant tumors has increased, as did the number of registered children with malignancies. The results of the treatment for malignant tumors in children are directly proportional to the level of the malignant process. Therefore, the early detection of the disease increases the chances of survival. The earlier the malignant process is suspected and detected, the more effective the specific treatment will be.
Doctors say the hereditary character is an important factor in the appearance of malignant tumors. Therefore, the families that experienced cancer should pay special attention to this factor.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the lymphoid and hematopoietic tumors in children in 2016 represented 52.2% of the malignant tumors, brain and other central nervous system tumors – 16.3%, kidney and renal tumors – 10.9% etc. The cancer incidence rates are higher in girls (14.8 cases per 100,000 girls, as against 12.3 cases per 100,000 boys) and in children aged between 5 and 14.
