Nature of Pediatric Leukemia in Hiwa Hematology/ Oncology Hospital: A Single Cancer Center Experience

Background and objectives: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common type of blood cancer in children. This study aimed to address various sociodemographic and diagnostic findings of pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia that have been recorded in the data system of Hiwa Hematology/Oncology Hospital. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was performed on 100 patients aged <18 years with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Hiwa Hematology/Oncology Hospital, from January 2020 to July 2023. A standard spreadsheet was used to report patients’ sociodemographic data and diagnostic findings, including complete blood count, bone marrow blast count, immunophenotyping, and genetic mutation. Results: Most patients had B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (92%), aged <6.0 years (52%), underweight (69%), A+ blood group (33%), and negative gene mutation (98% for protein 190 and 97% for protein 210). There was no significant correlation between both leukemia subtypes regarding age (p?0.745), gender (p=0.461), body mass index (p=0.849) and season of diagnosis (p?0.355). However, a significant difference (p<0.001) was seen for blood group distribution. No significant alterations (p?0.05) were seen in the mean hemoglobin, platelets and bone marrow blasts between both leukemia subtypes, while a significant difference (p=0.002) in the mean leukocyte levels was seen. Conclusions: B cell-subtype pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia is more common in our locality and is not related to age, gender, body mass index and season of diagnosis but is directly correlated to blood group.