Introduction
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 400,000 children and adolescents develop cancer each year. More than two-thirds of the world’s pediatric cancers are diagnosed in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). [1] Pakistan is a lower middle-income country and no such data is available. Our country’s lack of population-based cancer registries results in an underestimation of the burden of childhood cancer. In Pakistan, a regional cancer registry estimated that about 7000 to 7500 children are diagnosed with cancer every year.[2] Radiation therapy is an integral part of cancer treatment in the pediatric population and its utilization faces multiple and unique barriers in countries with limited resources due to lack of data regarding pediatric RT service and the clinical profiles of children requiring radiation therapy. All these factors contribute towards a poorer survival chance than those in high income countries (HIC).
There is limited data available on radiotherapy experience for pediatric tumors in our part of the world. We present the clinical profile of pediatric cancer patients who received radiation, either alone or as an adjuvant to surgery and chemotherapy; in prophylactic, radical, or palliative clinical settings.
Improvement in pediatric oncology care can only be achieved through national cancer control program which begins with establishing cancer registries. This study aims to improve practices in pediatric radiation oncology in LMIC by sharing an institutional experience of radiation therapy for pediatric cancer at the Aga Khan University Hospital, a tertiary care hospital accredited by Joint Commission International. This data may further identify and help reduce the disparity in outcomes between HIC and LMIC.