Malignant Solid Tumors in Children in the Region of Fez (Morocco): Epidemiological and Histopathological Profile

Introduction: Pediatric cancer is rare and accounts for only 1 to 3% of all malignancies. In general, it is dominated by leukemia. In the region of Fez, there is no available data concerning malignancies in children. Materials and Methods: This study includes, except leukemia, all other pediatric malignant neoplasms diagnosed in patients less than 15 years, from 2006 to 2016. It was conducted at the department of pathology of the Hassan II university hospital, Fez, Morocco. The characteristics of patients, including age, sex, location, and histological diagnosis were analyzed. Results: During a period of 11 years, 556 cases were recorded. There was a male predominance with a sex ratio of 1.3. Age varied between 2 months and 14 years with a mean age of 7.02 years. 37.6% of cases were diagnosed in the 0-4 years age group, 27.7% in the 5-9 years age group and 34.7% in the 10-14 years age group. The most frequent diagnosis was lymphoma and reticulo-endothelial neoplasm (35%), followed by neuroblastomas and other peripheral nervous cell tumors (11.8%). Conclusion: This study may reflect demographical and histopathological characteristics of pediatric malignancies in the region of Fez, Morocco. It revealed a male predominance and a high frequency of lymphomas. Central nervous system tumors were however less frequent and epithelial tumors more frequent in comparison with other series of developed countries. Other larger studies are necessary to establish a regional and even a national register of pediatric cancer.