INCIDENCE TRENDS OF ACUTE-LEUKEMIA AMONG THE CHILDREN OF MEXICO-CITY - 1982-1991

The objective of this study was to identify the tendency of acute leuk emia among children in Mexico City from 1982 to 1991, A hospital surve y was performed, Medical records of children under 15 years of age wit h a diagnosis of acute leukemia were reviewed,The cases were chosen fr om hospitals which provide medical attention to children with cancer i n Mexico City, The annual incidence rate (ATR) was calculated in gener al, by sex, age groups (under 1 year of age, from 1 to 4 years, 5 to 9 years and 10 to 14 years) and standardized with the world population, The trend was evaluated with Spearman's correlation method, Acute lym phoblastic leukemia showed a significantly increasing trend during the study period, The AIR was 7.75 (per million) in 1982 and 22.19 (per m illion) in 1991, For age groups a tendency to increase was observed in females of age group 1 to 4 Sears and in males of age group 10 to 14 years, Acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia did not display a specific tre nd, In conclusion, acute lymphoblastic leukemia shows a tendency to in crease in the children of Mexico City.