Childhood cancer rates in Cyprus have emerged as a concern among health experts, with recent data indicating incidence levels above the EU.

According to the Cyprus 2025 Cancer Country Profile prepared by the OECD and the European Commission, an estimated 22 children aged up to 14 were diagnosed with cancer in 2022.

The estimated incidence rate was 15 cases per 100,000 children, compared with the EU average of 13.7 cases per 100,000.

The figures are estimates based on available cancer registry information and previous trends rather than confirmed final case numbers for that year.

Leukaemia accounted for around 36 per cent of childhood cancer cases, followed by brain and central nervous system tumours at 27 per cent and lymphomas at 19 per cent.

Childhood cancer mortality in Cyprus was estimated at 2.3 deaths per 100,000 children, slightly above the EU average of 2.1 deaths per 100,000.

As reported in Politis, A population-based study using the childhood cancer registry, covering cases from 1998 to 2017, previously found Cyprus among the countries with the highest reported childhood and adolescent cancer incidence rates internationally.

The study estimated an age standardised incidence rate of 203.5 cases per million among children and adolescents up to 19 years old.

It found no statistically significant overall increase during the period examined, but identified a significant rise in thyroid cancer, particularly among girls and adolescents aged 15 to 19.

Speaking to Politis, Professor Constantinos Makris, public health institute director at the University of Technology (Tepak), said recent data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer indicated an increase in new childhood cancer cases over the past decade.

However, he said the available evidence does not explain why Cyprus appears to be experiencing higher increases compared with other European countries.

“The question of why new cases are increasing disproportionately in Cyprus compared with other European countries cannot currently be answered with precision,” he said.

Makris said Cyprus lacked a comprehensive system for tracking children’s environmental, behavioural and metabolic exposures over time, limiting researchers’ ability to investigate possible contributing factors.

He said areas requiring monitoring include obesity, diet, smoking exposure, air pollution and chemical exposure such as pesticides, but stressed that there was currently no evidence connecting the increase to any single cause.

“Genes cannot alter that significantly within ten years,” he said, adding that improved diagnosis may explain part of the increase but was unlikely to account for the entire trend.

Makris called for the creation of a national monitoring system examining children’s environmental and lifestyle exposures from pregnancy through early childhood.