Incidence of cancer in children aged 0–14 years in Taiwan, 1996–2010

Abstract Studies have found lower risk of childhood cancer among Asian children. We aim to characterize the recent incidence and incidence-trend of childhood cancer in Taiwan after the National Health Insurance program was launched in March 1995. Data were extracted from the Taiwan Cancer Registry, a population-based database established in 1979. Cases diagnosed at age 0–14 from 1996 to 2010 were analyzed and categorized according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer, Third Edition (ICCC-3). In total, 8032 childhood cancer cases were included, with a microscopic verification rate of 93.9%. The overall age-standardized rate (ASR) of incidence adjusted to the 2000 World Standard Population is 125.0 cases/million, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.3. The top five cancer types (ICCC-3 subgroup[s]; ASR per million) are acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ia, 30.3), acute myeloid leukemia (Ib; 9.4), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (IIb,c,e, 9.0), extracranial germ cell tumor (Xb,c; 8.3), and neuroblastoma (IVa; 7.8). The median age of diagnosis was 6 years for both genders. During the study period, the ASR of childhood cancer has been increasing at a rate of 1.2% per year (95% confidence interval, 0.6–1.7%). In contrast to Western countries, China, Japan, and Taiwan have lower incidence of childhood cancer; however, Taiwan's incidence rates of childhood germ cell tumors and hepatic tumors are higher. In conclusion, this population-based study reveals that the incidence rate of childhood cancer in Taiwan is rising consistently. The high incidence of germ cell tumors warrants further investigation.