Single Centre Experience of Treating Children with Cancer in the United Arab Emirates.

Abstract

Introduction: Cancer is a leading cause of death in children. Advancements in medical sciences have significantly improved childhood cancer outcome. However, the pattern of malignancy and outcomes of childhood cancer in the UAE have not been published in the literature in the recent period. Therefore, we aim to investigate this in a leading cancer institute in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Methodology: This is a retrospective study. We collected data including diagnosis; age at diagnosis; treatments used e.g., chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, immunotherapy and bone marrow transplant (BMT) and outcomes. Overall survival (OS) and Event-Free Survival (EFS) were estimated using the Kaplan Meier method.

Results: There are 82 children with cancer. The male-tofemale ratio is 1.2. Most patients (45%) were diagnosed between one to five years of age. The most common malignancies are B cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (32, 39%), brain tumours (12, 15%); Neuroblastoma (9, 10%), Hodgkin Lymphoma (8, 9%) and Wilms Tumour (5, 6%); Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (3, 4%); Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (3, 4%); Ewing Sarcoma (3, 4%); T ALL (2, 2%); Osteosarcoma (2, 2%); Angiosarcoma (1, 1%); Synovial Sarcoma (1, 1%). 28 (34%) of patients had completed all treatment at Burjeel Cancer Institute (BCI); 15 (18%) had completed their treatment at another centre and attending follow-up at BCI; and 5 (6%) commenced their treatment at BCI and were transferred to another centre. 34 (41%) but currently still undergoing treatment at BCI. The abandonment rate is 0%. Overall survival is 94% and event-free survival is 90%.

Discussion: The rapid progression of UAE cancer care over the past four decades has contributed massively to our favourable survival outcomes. Radiation therapy, bone marrow stem cell transplantation, strict medication regulation and monitoring by the UAE Department of Health have been established in recent years to further enhance treatment for cancer patients in the UAE.

Conclusion: The results of our study are comparable to the international standard. More studies involving multiple centres in the UAE are needed to ascertain the exact pattern of paediatric malignancy and outcomes in the UAE.