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Cheek Injection Model for Simultaneous Measurement of Pain and Itch-related Behaviors
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Association between Itch and Cancer in 3836 Pediatric Pruritus Patients at a Tertiary Care Center

Micah Belzberg1, Valerie A Larson2, Raveena Khanna3

  • 1Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore 21231, MD, USA. mbelzbe@jhu.edu.

Medicines (Basel, Switzerland)
|October 9, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Pruritus, or itch, is significantly linked to cancer in children. This study found pediatric patients with itch were much more likely to have a concomitant malignancy, especially blood, bone, or skin cancers.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Oncology
  • Dermatology
  • Clinical Medicine

Background:

  • Pruritus (itch) is a known paraneoplastic phenomenon in adults.
  • Limited research exists on the association between pruritus and malignancy in pediatric populations.
  • This study addresses the gap by examining pediatric patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between pruritus and cancer in a large pediatric hospital population.
  • To identify specific malignancies associated with pruritus in children.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective study of patients aged 18 or younger.
  • Data collected from Johns Hopkins Health System between 2012 and 2019.
  • Analysis of over one million pediatric patient records.

Main Results:

  • Pruritus was present in 3,836 pediatric patients, with 130 diagnosed with cancer.
  • Pediatric patients with pruritus had a significantly higher likelihood of concomitant malignancy (OR 12.84).
  • Neoplasms of the blood, bone, and skin showed the strongest association with pruritus.

Conclusions:

  • Pruritus is significantly associated with malignancy in pediatric hospital populations.
  • Clinicians should consider malignancy in children presenting with pruritus.
  • The burden and presentation of pruritus vary across different pediatric malignancies.

Keywords:
cancerchildrenepidemiologyitchmalignancyneoplasmpediatricpruritus

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