[Mortality from cancer in children and adolescents in Madrid, 1977-2001]

In the last few decades mortality from cancer among children and adolescents has not decreased homogeneously in industrialized countries. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological pattern and temporal trend of mortality from cancer in individuals aged less than 20 years old living in the Autonomous Community of Madrid from 1977 to 2001.

Data on deaths from cancer among children and adolescents were obtained from Spain's National Institute of Statistics and from the Mortality Registry of Madrid. Populations were obtained from official publications of the Institute of Statistics of Madrid. Variables analyzed were sex, 5-year age groups, 5-year death periods and underlying cause of death. The epidemiological pattern was studied and a Poisson's regression model was used to analyze cancer mortality trends in children and adolescents from 1977 to 2001.

Cancer mortality among children and adolescents decreased by 41 % from 1977 to 2001. The decrease in mortality differed according to sex (46 % in boys and 33 % in girls) and type of cancer (leukemias: 38 %, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: 58 %, malignant brain tumors: 45 %, malignant bone tumors: 19 %, ill-defined malignant tumors: 78 %). Moreover, the annual decrease was much greater in the last 5 years (4. 7 %) than during the entire period (2. 2 %).

Cancer mortality among children and adolescents decreased between 1977 and 2001 and our results are similar to those observed in other European and North American regions. To improve knowledge of the epidemiology of cancer among children and adolescents in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, future assessments including mortality, incidence, and survival indicators are required.