Abstract
ObjectiveChildhood cancer is rare and symptoms tend to be unspecific and vague. Using the utilization of health care services as a proxy for symptoms, the present study seeks to determine when early symptoms of childhood cancer are seen in general practice.MethodsA population-based matched comparative study was conducted using nationwide registry data. As cases, all children in Denmark below 16 years of age (N = 1,278) diagnosed with cancer (Jan 2002-Dec 2008) were included. As controls, 10 children per case matched on gender and date of birth (N = 12,780) were randomly selected. The utilization of primary health care services (daytime contacts, out-of-hours contacts and diagnostic procedures) during the year preceding diagnosis/index date was measured for cases and controls.ResultsDuring the six months before diagnosis, children with cancer used primary care more than the control cohort. This excess use grew consistently and steadily towards the time of diagnosis with an IRR = 3.19 (95%CI: 2.99–3.39) (p<0.0001) during the last three months before diagnosis. Children with Central Nervous System (CNS) tumours had more contacts than other children during the entire study period. The use of practice-based diagnostic tests and the number of out-of-hours contacts began to increase four to five months before cancer diagnosis.ConclusionsThe study shows that excess health care use, a proxy for symptoms of childhood cancer, occurs months before the diagnosis is established. Children with lymphoma, bone tumour or other solid tumours had higher consultation rates than the controls in the last five months before diagnosis, whereas children with CNS tumour had higher consultation rates in all twelve months before diagnosis. More knowledge about early symptoms and the diagnostic pathway for childhood cancer would be clinically relevant.
Highlights
Childhood cancer is rare and affects 1 in 5–600 children in Western countries
In childhood cancer in particular, alarm symptoms seem to have very low positive predictive values [6], and the diagnostic process is challenging in general practice where the risk of serious disease in children is real, but very low [7]
It is important to obtain knowledge about children’s health care seeking behaviour prior to a cancer diagnosis. Such knowledge may be obtained from general practitioners (GPs) who often report that the diagnostic intervals are short in childhood cancer [8]
Summary
Childhood cancer is rare and affects 1 in 5–600 children in Western countries Rare, it is, next to accidents, the second most common cause of childhood death in developed countries [1]. In childhood cancer in particular, alarm symptoms seem to have very low positive predictive values [6], and the diagnostic process is challenging in general practice where the risk of serious disease in children is real, but very low [7]. It is important to obtain knowledge about children’s health care seeking behaviour prior to a cancer diagnosis. Such knowledge may be obtained from general practitioners (GPs) who often report that the diagnostic intervals are short in childhood cancer [8]
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