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Published on: February 1, 2018

Childhood cancer and factors related to prolonged diagnostic intervals: a Danish population-based study

J M Ahrensberg1, F Olesen, R P Hansen

  • 1Research Unit for General Practice, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 2, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark. jette.ahrensberg@alm.au.dk

British Journal of Cancer
|March 2, 2013
PubMed

Insights

General practitioners

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Oncology
  • Diagnostic Pathways
  • Primary Care Medicine

Background:

  • Early diagnosis of childhood cancer significantly improves patient prognosis.
  • Understanding the diagnostic interval (DI) in primary care is crucial for timely cancer detection.
  • Key factors influencing DI include presenting symptoms, their interpretation by general practitioners (GPs), and referral letter content.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between symptom interpretation, referral wording, and the diagnostic interval for childhood cancer.
  • To identify factors contributing to delays in diagnosing pediatric cancers in primary care settings.

Main Methods:

  • A nationwide Danish population-based study involving 550 children under 15 with incident cancer diagnoses.
  • Data collected via questionnaires to parents and general practitioners (GPs).
  • Diagnostic interval (DI) categorized as short or long; logistic regression used to assess variable associations.

Main Results:

  • GP symptom interpretation varied by cancer type and was significantly associated with DI.
  • Vomiting correlated with shorter DI for CNS tumors; pain correlated with longer DI for leukemia.
  • Referral letter wording impacted DI, with explicit cancer suspicion leading to shortest intervals.

Conclusions:

  • GPs are pivotal in recognizing early childhood cancer signs.
  • GP symptom interpretation and referral letter content profoundly influence the diagnostic process and timeliness.
  • Optimizing GP knowledge and communication strategies can shorten diagnostic intervals for pediatric cancers.
Abstract

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