A new report in the journal Pediatrics is the first to show substantial regional differences in the incidence of childhood cancers – the highest being in the US Northeast. The results also show that girls were more likely to be diagnosed with kidney cancer, and boys more likely to have lymphoid leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Lead author, Dr. Li of the CDC, said the risk of cancer in a region may be affected by radiation levels. Additionally, the number of cases can be affected by under-reporting and variations in quality of healthcare, which can lead to more (or less) cancers being diagnosed. Full story.
June 4, 2008
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.