STAGING OF CHILDHOOD AND JUVENILE CANCER IN WEST PARANÁ: CHARACTERIZATION USING THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION

Abstract

This project aimed to allow a new evaluation of the childhood cancer staging system, following the criteria of the TORONTO CHILDHOOD CANCER STAGE GUIDELINES (TCCSG) for pediatric cancer and provide better visibility regarding the anatomical extent of the disease at diagnosis, comparing with the staging systems recommended for different pathologies. 179 medical records of patients being monitored at the Cascavel Cancer Hospital – PR (UOPECCAN) were evaluated. Of these, 178 (99.45%) had sufficient information in the medical record to be staged using Level 1 of the Toronto Pediatric Cancer Guidelines. We observed that Wilms tumor, Sarcomas and germinal tumors were the pathologies in which there were small changes in the comparisons between stagings, whereas the other tumors were similar in the comparison. It was possible to classify most childhood malignant tumors using this staging. The TCCSG does not propose to replace the staging used in the clinic, but rather to evaluate the anatomical extent of the disease at diagnosis with data found in medical records and thereby facilitate uniform staging. This will facilitate the evaluation of aspects related to early or late diagnosis, as well as the biological characteristics of tumors in different regions of the world.