Gender Differences in Incidence Rates of Childhood B-Precursor Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia in Mississippi

The authors studied pediatric patients with B-precursor acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) to determine whether Mississippi's gender incidences correlate with national statistics. Furthermore, data on gender incidences in each of the risk categories of low, standard, and high were collected. A retrospective chart review was performed of pediatric B-precursor ALL patients diagnosed at the Children's Cancer Clinic at the University of Mississippi Medical Center from 1995 to 2005. The gender incidences in Mississippi were found to be comparable with the national average for ALL (1.34:1 vs 1.3:1) overall. However, the national average includes T-cell ALL, which is known to be significantly more prevalent in boys. Of greater significance, boys were noted to present with high-risk B-precursor ALL 4 times more than girls, suggesting the need for further investigation into possible causes of this phenomenon.