OBJECTIVE. To review the data of paediatric cancer that had been collected by the Hong Kong Cancer Registry from 1982 through 1991.

DESIGN. Cross-sectional retrospective study.

SETTING. Hong Kong.

PATIENTS. Children aged 15 years or younger.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. The types of cancer were classified into 12 diagnostic groups according to morphology (following the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology M-code). The incidences of the different types of cancer were obtained with reference to the Hong Kong population aged 15 years or younger. Data collected between 1989 and 1991 were checked by paediatric oncologists from the Hong Kong Paediatric Haematology and Oncology Study Group.

RESULTS. A total of 1756 cases of paediatric cancer were registered during the 10-year period. The incidence of cancer was 144.3 new cases per million children. Leukaemia was the most common form of childhood cancer (40.0%), followed by brain tumour (16.3%), and lymphoma (10.8%). The relative frequencies of neuroblastoma (2.4%) and Wilms’ tumour (3.5%) were lower than those reported from western countries.

CONCLUSION. The incidences and types of paediatric cancer in Hong Kong are similar to those in western countries. Collaboration with paediatric oncology groups should provide more accurate information on the incidence and survival rates of children with cancer in Hong Kong.

Key words: Age factors; Child; Neoplasms/epidemiology; Neoplasms/mortality; Survival rate

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