Radiotherapy in the pediatric oncology population of Costa Rica: a 2-year experience
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51481/amc.v63i2.1196Keywords:
Radiotherapy, pediatric, oncology, treatmentAbstract
Aim: to determine the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of patients with oncological disease treated at the Hospital Nacional de Niños ""Dr. Carlos Sáenz Herrera"", who received external radiotherapy, during the period from January 2015 to December 2016.
Methods: it is an observational, descriptive study of a series of cases of pediatric patients with an oncologic diagnosis, who received radiotherapy and were treated for a period of 2 years. Clinical records were reviewed to obtain the data retrospectively, according to the variables of interest. Demographic data, tumor type, anatomical site irradiated, need for anesthesia, and waiting time were recorded. A descriptive analysis of the qualitative and quantitative variables was applied.
Results: a total of 117 patients who received radiotherapy were analyzed, of which 59.0% were men. The average age was 7.7 years. Leukemias and the group of brain tumors were the most frequently irradiated tumor types; being the central nervous system the most treated anatomical site, in 56 patients (40.6%). Curative radiotherapy was more frequent than palliative. In 34 patients (29.1%) anesthesia was required. All patients had to wait for the start of their treatment and in a minority the reason was recorded in relation to a non-clinical condition of the patient.Conclusion: In pediatric oncology, radiotherapy is a treatment modality used predominantly for curative purposes in patients of different ages and both sexes, most commonly with brain tumors and leukemia; some young patients may require anesthesia during treatment. In a minority of patients, the waiting time for the start of their treatment was attributed to non-clinical factors.
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