INTRODUCTION

India is home to the largest child population in the world. As per Census 2011, India,

with a population of 121.1 Cr, has 13.59% (16.45 Cr) of its population in the age group

0-6 years and 30.76% (37.24 Cr) in the age group 0-14 years.1

Paediatric age group is the most vital age group in all societies, because there is

a changed awareness that the causes of chronic disease in later life and health

behaviour are laid down at this stage.2

Children are susceptible to a vast number of diseases including gastrointestinal

disorders, which may be associated with life threatening complications that sometimes

result in mortality especially if left untreated.3

Vascular anomalies are frequently seen in paediatric patients, with an estimated

prevalence of at least 4.5 percent.4 Although classically benign, some vascular

anomalies can be part of a syndrome or can be related with serious, life-threatening

conditions.

Bone lesions come across frequently in paediatric patients, with primary bone

tumours representing the 6th most common neoplasm.5

Breast lesions in children are infrequent and diverse from adult breast disease

in several respects includes mainly benign lesions linked to normal development of the

breast and benign tumours.6

Central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms are the most common solid tumours

of childhood, accounting for 20% of all paediatric oncological diagnoses 7 and are the

second most common group of neoplasms after leukaemias.

ENT problems are very common among the children, particularly diseases

such as acute suppurative otitis media, acute tonsillitis, acute epiglottis and rhinitis etc.

1
Poor hygienic conditions, malnourishment, different socio-economic levels are also said

to play a role in the frequency of ENT disorders.8

Ovarian masses in children, whether solid or cystic, include a mixed group of

lesions. Malignant neoplasms are rare in paediatric age groups with an estimated rate

of 2.6 cases per 100,000 girls per year, and include around 1% of paediatric cancers. 9,10

Gallbladder disease in the paediatric population causes pain and results in

morbidly and accountable for a disproportionate number of cholecystectomies. The

diagnosis is often deferred in this population because of its relative rarity compared with

disease in adults.11

The head and neck lesions in children are classically benign in nature,

with a negligible proportion of malignant lesions as head and neck masses.12

Lymphadenopathy (LAP) is a common clinical presentation seen in

paediatric population. The cause for LAP differs from a benign reactive process to

infections or malignancies.13 In majority of the paediatric cases, the enlarged lymph

nodes are owing to reactive causes and are self-limiting.

Salivary gland tumours are quite rare accounting for less than 2% of all

tumours and 3-10% of all head and neck neoplasms.14

Skin diseases are a major health problem in the paediatric age group and are

associated with significant morbidity can be temporary or chronic and recurrent. 15

Soft-tissue masses largely represent a diagnostic dilemma, since there is a large and

heterogeneous group of lesions than can manifest as such in children, including both

neoplastic (benign and malignant) and nonneoplastic lesions.16

Thyroid diseases are the second most frequent endocrinopathy in children and

adolescents with girls being more frequently affected. It is a multidisciplinary problem

requiring collaboration of specialists in different fields of medicine.17

2
 Testicular tumours are rare in children when related with those occurring post

pubertally or with other genitourinary tumours in childhood such as Wilms' tumour. A

few large-scale reports have been published regarding paediatric testicular tumours. 18

The renal tumours affecting infants and young children are different from those

that arise in older children and adults. These tumours arise from renal precursor tissue,

known as metanephros, or from mesenchymal tissue. The most common renal

neoplasm in the paediatric population is Wilms tumour, or nephroblastoma.19

“Paediatric germ cell tumour” is the term used to define malignant cancers of

germline cells in patients aged 0–18 years. These cancers may arise in the testis, the

ovary, or the extragonadal sites including the sacrococcygeal area and the

mediastinum.20

This study was undertaken to review and understand the spectrum of various

lesions occurring in paediatric age group, as there are few studies documented in

English literature.