Feasibility and stage at diagnosis for children with cancer: a pilot study on population-based data in a middle-income country using the Toronto childhood cancer stage guidelines.

Background: The aim was to conduct a pilot study in a middle-income country testing the use of the Toronto Childhood Cancer Staging System by Population-Based Cancer Registry (PBCR).

Methods: This study involved first the translation of the Australian pediatric cancer staging manual for 16 types of pediatric tumours. Four PBCRs from different regions of Brazil were selected for a pilot study. The study period was from 2005 to 2014, and data were collected from notification sources, including hospitals, pathological laboratories and routine medical records, and staging was done retrospectively.

Results: We identified 1,560 pediatric cancer cases diagnosed between 2005 and 2014. Notably, 94.7% met Tier 1 criteria, and 91.9% met Tier 2 criteria. The PBCR from Curitiba (south region) demonstrated higher staging feasibility (99.3% Tier 1; 96.7% Tier 2) than from Aracaju (northeast) (87.5% Tier 1; 81.3% Tier 2). Most cases had localised or regional disease (77.7%), while 14.3% were metastatic, and 8.0% could not be staged. Osteosarcoma had the highest metastasis rate (50.0%).

Conclusion: Our study demonstrates the feasibility of collecting pediatric cancer stage data from population-based registries in resource-limited settings, advancing our understanding of pediatric cancer outcomes in Brazil.