Data from the largest cancer institute in Ahmedabad shows that two types of Leukaemia accounted for almost half of Childhood Cancers among paediatric patients in 2022. This information comes at a time when the government is said to be mulling setting up a separate Cancer Registry for children to accurately map the prevalence and deaths occurring due to cancer in minors.
Of the total paediatric patients diagnosed with the five major types of Childhood Cancers at the Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute (GCRI) in the city last year, 464 children (44.87 percent) were diagnosed with two types of blood cancers. GCRI is the state-level centre for cancer research in Gujarat and also houses the National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) of the state.
Of the two cancers among children, Lymphoid Leukaemia alone accounted for 353 paediatric cancer patients in 2022. It was seen in 34.82 percent of boys and 33.47 percent of girls. Myeloid Leukaemia, whose prevalence is generally more in adults, accounted for 111 paediatric patients at GCRI last year and contributed to 11.17 percent among boys and 10.28 percent among girls.
Overall, the prevalence of Childhood Cancers in Ahmedabad stands at 93.8 per 10 lakh boys and 50.1 per 10 lakh girls. This is the Age Adjusted Rate of childhood cancer in Ahmedabad. However, there appears to be an acute dearth of data about cancer mortality, especially in children, across India.
An NCDIR report in 2022 of institutional care in India showed that only three tertiary hospitals and two secondary hospitals from Gujarat participated in a survey about Childhood Cancer care in the state.
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