The incidences of childhood cancers in Thailand between 1995 and 1997 were determined from cancer registrations
collected at five locations around the kingdom and compared with similar analyses performed at cancer registries in
Asia, Europe and the USA. The incidence in Thailand was found to be lower than in some Asian and Western
countries. Between 1988-1994 and 1995-1997, the incidence of childhood cancer rose 32.5%. As elsewhere in the
world, leukemias, brain tumors and lymphomas comprised two-thirds of all childhood cancers. The age-peak for
incidence was between 2 and 5 years, particularly for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Carcinomas were rare. Several
features of the cancer pattern correspond to other Asian populations, in particular the low incidence of Hodgkin’s
disease, Wilms’ tumor and Ewing’s sarcoma. Neuroblastoma was more common than in neighboring Southeast
Asian countries.