PATTERNS OF CHILDHOOD SOLID TUMOR-INCIDENCE IN NORTHERN ISRAEL, 1973-1990

A retrospective analysis of 515 pediatric cancer cases diagnosed over 18 years, 1973-1990, showed an annual incidence of pediatric solid tum ors in nothern Israel of 77.1 per million, somewhat lower than previou sly reported. Lymphomas predominated over central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms, suggesting an Afro-Asian rather than a Western pattern. Je wish and non-Jewish children were at approximately equal risk (1:07: 1 .O)for the nonleukemic cancers. However, there was a notably higher fr equency in males than females (1:42 : 1.0) and in Ashkenasi Jews as co mpared to either Sephardi Jews (1.25 : 1.00) or non-Jews (1.23 : 1.0). Ethnic, age, and sex predispositions for particular types of malignan cy were also noted. Non-Jews tended to have lymphomas or retinoblastom as and Sephardi Jews were predisposed to soft tissue sarcomas. Ashkena si Jews tended to manifest CNS tumors, retinoblastoma, and osteosarcom a. Children under 5 years showed Burkitt's lymphoma and neuroblastoma, who eas the older group tended to have Hodgkin's lymphoma. Boys were move vulnerable to non-hodgkin's lymphoma, medulloblastoma, neuroblast oma, and rhabdomyosarcoma, and girls were subject to high incidences o f bone, gonadal, germ cell, and epithelial tumors, as well as to astro cytoma. The implications for genetic or environmental contributions to several cancers are considered in conjunction with ethnic or gender p redisposition to those cancers.