Pediatric Tumors in North West Pakistan and Afghan Refugees

All patients referred to the Institute of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine in Peshawar (IRNUM) during 1990 to 1994 were analyzed. There were 1655 children with biopsy-proven cancers; 1290 were from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), and the remaining 365 were Afghan refugees. Male children from the NWFP were 67% and females were 33%. Among Afghan children, 69% were males and 31% were females. Patients whose histopathologies were doubtful or not available were excluded from the study. The most common tumors in children in the NWFP were lymphoid leukemia, lymphoma, myeloid leukemia, Wilms tumor, tumors of the central nervous system (CNS), soft tissue sarcoma, bone tumors, retinoblastoma, neuroblastoma, and testicular tumors. Among Afghan children the most common cancers were lymphoma, lymphoid leukemia, myeloid leukemia, Wilms tumor, retinoblastoma, tumors of soft tissue, bone tumors, CNS tumors, testicular tumors, and neuroblastoma.