CHILDHOOD LEUKEMIA IS STILL A DEADLY DISEASE IN YAOUNDE, CAMEROON - AREPORT OF 14 CASES

In the Pediatric Unit of the University Teaching Hospital Center of Ya ounde, 58 of 2,900 (2%) hospitalized children aged 0 to 15 years who h ad a malignancy were studied. Fourteen (24.1%) had acute leukemia base d on morphologic and cytochemical studies. Acute lymphoblastic leukemi a was encountered in II of these patients (78.6%). The male to female ratio was 1.3 to 1. Nine of the 11 children (64.3%) were 5 years of ag e or younger. Eleven (78.6%) died of disease progression and its compl ications.