The Impact of Climate Change on Paediatric Oncology

Dezső Schuler, Miklós Garami and Zsuzsanna Jakab

Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

^*Correspondance to: Zsuzsanna Jakab 

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Abstract:

Background: According to some experts, climate change will be the greatest health-related hazard in the 21^st century. It is understandable that harmful effects due to climate change will be the greatest among poor populations living in the hot climate zones; however, they will have impacts worldwide.Aims: To summarize the evidence of climate change in the field of paediatric oncology.
Methods: Articles relating to climate change and paediatric oncology were reviewed. The review was restricted to studies that included information on climate change and effects on subjects 18 years of age or younger.
Results: Currently detected harmful effects of climate change are expected to cause further unfavourable consequences within the health system and therefore within the paediatric oncology:1. Current relationship of certain tumours to geographic regions, as well as the relative occurrence of these tumours, is changing. 2. Numbers of cases of childhood malignant diseases are expected to increase.3. As a result of migration from economically underdeveloped countries, more foreign patients are expected to arrive in the developed world and they will require health care.Conclusion: Increasing health-related effects of climate change are expected to lead to new challenges for the health care system – including the important field of paediatric oncology – that must be dealt with as soon as possible.

Keywords:

Climate change; Paediatric oncology; Migration; Incidence; Mortality; Socioeconomic status

Cite the Article:

Schuler D, Garami M, Jakab Z. The Impact of Climate Change on Paediatric Oncology. Clin Oncol. 2017; 2: 1225.