Approximately 175000 cancer cases are diagnosed annually in children younger than age 15 years worldwide, 1 with an
annual increase of around 0.9 % in incidence
rate in the developed world, only partly explained by improved
diagnosis and reporting.1, 2 Childhood cancer is rare and its survival
rate has increased significantly over the years owing to advancement in treatment technologies; however, it is still a leading cause of death among children and adolescents in developed countries, ranking second among children aged 1 to 14 years in the United States, surpassed only by accidents.1, 3 Childhood cancer is also emerging as a major cause of death in the last few years in Asia, Central and South America, Northwest Africa, and the Middle East, where death
rates from preventable communicable diseases are declining.2
Formal tests to determine if the above
rates of changes in children's
diagnoses varied with mothers» remission status were statistically significant (P =.02), and remained significant after further adjusting for maternal depression severity at baseline, maternal treatment setting,
annual household income, and child treatment status during the 3 - month follow - up interval (P =.01).