Clinico-Pathological Profile of Malignant Abdominal Tumors in Children: Experience of the Pediatric Oncology Unit in Bamako

Introduction: the objective was to describe the epidemiological and histological aspects of malignant abdominal tumors in children. Methodology: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018. We included all patients aged 0 to 15 years with histologically confirmed abdominal malignancies. Results: We collected 46 files of malignant tumors of the abdomen (35% of pediatric cancers). The majority of patients were under 5 years old (65%). The sex ratio was 1.7. They were generally from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds (67%). The average consultation time was 50 days. The main reasons for consultation were abdominal mass (48%), pain (17%) or distension (9%). The mass was large, hard (89%), immobile (71%) and painful (46%). Malnutrition was found in 80% of patients. The mass was retro-peritoneal in 63% of cases and renal in 54%. It was solid in 94% of cases and heterogeneous in 76% of cases. The assay for tumor markers was not performed. Anemia was present in all patients. Fine needle aspiration was performed in 43%, biopsy in 37% and myelogram in 15% of cases. spinal cord involvement was observed in 28% of Burkitt’s cases. The main cancers diagnosed were nephroblastoma (52%), Burkitt’s lymphoma (26%) and neuroblastoma (13%). Stage 1 and stage 2 were frequent in 20% and 22% of cases, respectively; 36% of cases were not staged. The average duration of chemotherapy was 11 weeks. Total resection was performed in 30% of cases. The outcome of the patients was marked by total remission in 65%. Conclusion: Abdominal malignancies are very common in children. The diagnosis of certainty is late in our context.