The prevalence of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies among patients with Down syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Patients with Down syndrome (DS) have a unique genetic and clinical profile that may increase the risk of cancer.

Methods: A literature search on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane databases was conducted, focusing on studies to investigate the prevalence of solid and hematologic tumors in DS.

Results: Fifteen studies were included, encompassing 62,121 individuals with Down syndrome (DS). The overall prevalence of cancer in DS was 2.02 % (95 % CI: 1.63-2.50 %). The analysis of hematological tumors revealed a prevalence of 1.18 % (95 % CI: 0.86 % - 1.62 %) for leukemia, 0.86 % (95 % CI: 0.73 % - 1.01 %) for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and 0.51 % (95 % CI: 0.29 % - 0.90 %) for acute myeloid leukemia. Among solid tumors, testicular cancer had the highest prevalence, at 0.22 % (95 % CI: 0.12 % - 0.43 %).

Conclusions: Our results highlight the need for targeted screening strategies, prevention strategies and treatment protocols among those with Down syndrome.