Features of Malignancy Prevalence among Children in the Aral Sea Region

OBJECTIVE: A study of primary cancer morbidity among children and subsequent calculation of average annual incidence were carried out for boys and girls, and young men and women in Kazakhstan. METHODS: The investigated population lived in three areas of the Aral Sea region: designated catastrophe (Aral, Kazalt, Shalkar regions), crisis (Zhalagash, Karmakshy, Shiely regions), pre-crisis (Irgiz, Arys, Ulytau regions). Zhanaarka region of Karaganda oblast was applied as a control. Parameters were retrospective analyzed for the 10 years from 2004 to 2013. RESULT: The results indicate that indices of children cancer morbidity were slightly higher in the Aral Sea region than in the control district, but they were comparable with similar data from studies in other regions. In all areas of the Aral Sea region, except for Ulytau, primary cancer morbidity exceeded the control level by 1.3-2.7 times (4.7%000). Hematological malignancies, including solid tumors - tumors of musculoskeletal system and skin, digestive system, brain and central nervous system predominated. Stress levels in zones of the Aral Sea region were slightly higher in the crisis zone than in the catastrophe zone that can be explained by the phenomenon of wave-like dynamics of disease growth risk. Gender differences in characteristics of malignancy formation were not more pronounced in the studied region. CONCLUSION: Indices of children cancer are slightly higher in the Aral Sea region than in the control area of Kazakhstan, but they are comparable to results for other regions.