Malignant Neoplasms in Kosovo's Children and Adolescents, 2024: A Population-Based Study

Background: The global prevalence of malignant neoplasms has been steadily increasing for more than a half-century and has now reached pandemic proportions. Millions of people suffer from preventable malignancies. Data are vital for determining what actions are required and which populations should...

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Main Authors: Sanije Hoxha-Gashi, Musli Gashi, Mirëlinda Hatashi, Mirlinda Havolli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: International Medical Research and Development Corporation 2025-06-01
Series:International Journal of Biomedicine
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Online Access:http://www.ijbm.org/articles/i58/ijbm_15(2)_oa8.pdf
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author Sanije Hoxha-Gashi
Musli Gashi
Mirëlinda Hatashi
Mirlinda Havolli
author_facet Sanije Hoxha-Gashi
Musli Gashi
Mirëlinda Hatashi
Mirlinda Havolli
author_sort Sanije Hoxha-Gashi
collection DOAJ
description Background: The global prevalence of malignant neoplasms has been steadily increasing for more than a half-century and has now reached pandemic proportions. Millions of people suffer from preventable malignancies. Data are vital for determining what actions are required and which populations should be addressed. This paper presents cases of malignant neoplasms among children and adolescents in Kosovo reported in the population-based registry at the Department of Health Statistics (DHS) at the NIPHK for the year 2024. Methods and Results: For this retrospective analytic study, the main source of information was the DHS's annual reports on malignant diseases at the NIPHK for 2024. In 2024, in the population registry of malignant diseases at the DHS at the NIPHK, 56 new cases of malignant diseases in children (aged 0–14 years) and adolescents (aged 15–19 years) were reported. Of these, half were boys, and half were girls. Those aged 0–4 years were 19% and 33.9%, respectively; those aged 5–9 years and 10–14 years were 12% and 21.4%, respectively; and those aged 15–19 years were 13% and 23.2%, respectively. The incidence of neoplasms in 2024 in Kosovo among children and adolescents was 11.9 cases per 100,000. Of the 56 new cases with neoplasms, almost half (23/41.1%) were malignant neoplasms, stated or presumed to be primary, of lymphoid, hematopoietic, and related tissue (C81-C96); 8/14.3% were malignant neoplasms of eye, brain and other parts of the central nervous system (C69-C72); 6/10.7% were malignant neoplasms of the urinary tract (C64-C67); and 5/8.9% cases were malignant neoplasms of mesothelial and soft tissue (C45-C49) and of female genital organs (C51-C58), while the other groups were one or two cases each. Conclusion: Our study provides strong evidence of the incidence of cancer among children and adolescents in Kosovo, highlighting the need to develop strategies and programs to reduce the burden of cancer in children and adolescents in Kosovo.
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spelling doaj-art-c154f5229b704f9db2d8451cb80c7a572025-08-20T02:30:30ZengInternational Medical Research and Development CorporationInternational Journal of Biomedicine2158-05102158-05292025-06-01152319-32410.21103/Article15(2)_OA8Malignant Neoplasms in Kosovo's Children and Adolescents, 2024: A Population-Based StudySanije Hoxha-Gashi0Musli Gashi1Mirëlinda Hatashi2Mirlinda Havolli3Faculty of Medicine, University of Pristina “Hasan Prishtina,” Pristina, Kosovo; National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo (NIPHK), Pristina, KosovoFaculty of Medicine, University of Pristina “Hasan Prishtina,” Pristina, Kosovo; Emergjency Clinic, University Clinical Center of Kosovo, Pristina, KosovoNational Institute of Public Health of Kosovo (NIPHK), Pristina, KosovoFaculty of Health Science, University of Maribor, SloveniaBackground: The global prevalence of malignant neoplasms has been steadily increasing for more than a half-century and has now reached pandemic proportions. Millions of people suffer from preventable malignancies. Data are vital for determining what actions are required and which populations should be addressed. This paper presents cases of malignant neoplasms among children and adolescents in Kosovo reported in the population-based registry at the Department of Health Statistics (DHS) at the NIPHK for the year 2024. Methods and Results: For this retrospective analytic study, the main source of information was the DHS's annual reports on malignant diseases at the NIPHK for 2024. In 2024, in the population registry of malignant diseases at the DHS at the NIPHK, 56 new cases of malignant diseases in children (aged 0–14 years) and adolescents (aged 15–19 years) were reported. Of these, half were boys, and half were girls. Those aged 0–4 years were 19% and 33.9%, respectively; those aged 5–9 years and 10–14 years were 12% and 21.4%, respectively; and those aged 15–19 years were 13% and 23.2%, respectively. The incidence of neoplasms in 2024 in Kosovo among children and adolescents was 11.9 cases per 100,000. Of the 56 new cases with neoplasms, almost half (23/41.1%) were malignant neoplasms, stated or presumed to be primary, of lymphoid, hematopoietic, and related tissue (C81-C96); 8/14.3% were malignant neoplasms of eye, brain and other parts of the central nervous system (C69-C72); 6/10.7% were malignant neoplasms of the urinary tract (C64-C67); and 5/8.9% cases were malignant neoplasms of mesothelial and soft tissue (C45-C49) and of female genital organs (C51-C58), while the other groups were one or two cases each. Conclusion: Our study provides strong evidence of the incidence of cancer among children and adolescents in Kosovo, highlighting the need to develop strategies and programs to reduce the burden of cancer in children and adolescents in Kosovo.http://www.ijbm.org/articles/i58/ijbm_15(2)_oa8.pdfneoplasmcancerchildrenadolescentskosovo
spellingShingle Sanije Hoxha-Gashi
Musli Gashi
Mirëlinda Hatashi
Mirlinda Havolli
Malignant Neoplasms in Kosovo's Children and Adolescents, 2024: A Population-Based Study
International Journal of Biomedicine
neoplasm
cancer
children
adolescents
kosovo
title Malignant Neoplasms in Kosovo's Children and Adolescents, 2024: A Population-Based Study
title_full Malignant Neoplasms in Kosovo's Children and Adolescents, 2024: A Population-Based Study
title_fullStr Malignant Neoplasms in Kosovo's Children and Adolescents, 2024: A Population-Based Study
title_full_unstemmed Malignant Neoplasms in Kosovo's Children and Adolescents, 2024: A Population-Based Study
title_short Malignant Neoplasms in Kosovo's Children and Adolescents, 2024: A Population-Based Study
title_sort malignant neoplasms in kosovo s children and adolescents 2024 a population based study
topic neoplasm
cancer
children
adolescents
kosovo
url http://www.ijbm.org/articles/i58/ijbm_15(2)_oa8.pdf
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AT mirelindahatashi malignantneoplasmsinkosovoschildrenandadolescents2024apopulationbasedstudy
AT mirlindahavolli malignantneoplasmsinkosovoschildrenandadolescents2024apopulationbasedstudy