Environmental and economic factors of regional variation in childhood cancer across Russia

Abstract

The study explores factors that contribute to the development of malignant neoplasms in children 0–14 years old. Uneven geographic distribution of childhood cancer in Russia and across the globe is commonly attributed to exogenous factors. Based on cartographic, comparative, and historical methods, as well as correlation analysis in the current research, we have endeavored to determine the significance of the key environmental and economic factors that lead to the formation of malignant neoplasms in children, such as the degree of urbanization, regional economic development, extent of anthropogenic impact on the environment, parental occupation, etc. The results thus obtained have allowed us to cluster Russian regions with respect to the degree of stress of the oncologic situation in terms of childhood incidence of cancer. The present conclusions can be taken into account when designing cancer prevention programs based on territorial features and when evaluating their efficiency.