Clinical and Epidemiological Profile of Children and Adolescentes with Cancer in an Oncology Service

Abstract

Introduction: Progress in cancer control in the last 50 years is undeniable, however, in Brazil it still represents the second cause of death in the child and adolescent population and studies have not shown a decline in this data. Objective: To analyze the clinical-epidemiological profile of children and adolescents with cancer in an oncologys service. Method: Retrospective documentary study, with search of data in medical records of children and adolescents, with diagnosis of cancer in the period from 2008 to 2014. data were collected from May to august 2015, stored in a computerized database and submitted to statistical analysis descriptive. This study was approved by the research e thics committee of the Federal University of Tocantins (protocol 116/2014). Results: The mean age at diagnosis was 8 years, the majority of which were male and the most frequent types of cancer were leukemia, lymphomas and central nervous system tumors. The use of chemotherapy predominated among the treatments used. regarding the situation-outcome, they were discharged for cure (11%); in treatment (14%); post-treatment follow-up (31%) and died (29%). Conclusion: The profile of children and adolescents with cancer in this study denoted the complexity and biopsychosocial dimension that involved the treatment of childhood and adolescence cancer, translated by the expressive number of hospital admissions and deaths in children under 5 years of age. Iit is recommended that health professionals be trained to perform the early diagnosis and for the excellence of multi-professional treatment, seeking not only cure but also quality of life.