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
The
rank histograms using all the climate variables of MMEs have a tendency towards being dome - shaped with a peak
around the
middle rank, while those of SMEs are U-shape with strong peaks at the highest and lowest
ranks (Fig. 1).