ChildCancerSmart is a new project that aims to reduce the time taken to diagnose cancer in children, teenagers and young adults.
Childhood cancer is the commonest cause of death by disease for children in the UK, and many experience long delays to diagnosis. Delayed diagnosis can lead to worse survival for patients and poorer long-term health for survivors.
A review of existing evidence supports the need for us to better understand factors affecting the time it takes for a child or young person with cancer to be diagnosed. For example, children in the UK with a Wilms’ tumour, a type of childhood kidney cancer, have larger and more advanced tumours at diagnosis compared with children in other European countries. There are likely to be many reasons for this, with lack of awareness playing a key role.
HeadSmart, an evidence-based national awareness campaign led by the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre and the Brain Tumour Charity has halved diagnosis times for children with brain tumours in the UK. We now hope to replicate this success for all other cancers affecting children and young people.
ChildCancerSmart will help us to measure and understand the time it takes to diagnose children and young people with all cancers across the UK. The project will also start to address delays by developing high quality guidance on cancers in children and young people, and produce awareness tools for a national awareness campaign to promote earlier diagnosis.
ChildCancerSmart is led by Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG), and the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre (CBTRC) at the University of Nottingham, in partnership with CLIC Sargent, the Grace Kelly Ladybird Trust, and Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer (TYAC).
The project has several strands, which together aim to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer in children, teenagers and young adults amongst both healthcare professionals and the general public.
- A systematic review of the published scientific literature on signs, symptoms and diagnosis of childhood cancers will be undertaken, and the results used to develop high-quality clinical referral guidelines for GPs, emergency medical practitioners and other healthcare professionals
- A series of e-learning modules for healthcare professionals will be developed based on the referral guidelines, aiming to improve the knowledge of professionals.
- A website and ‘signs and symptoms’ materials, along with a public awareness campaign, will be developed for parents, schools and the general public, raising awareness of key things to look out for and what action to take if you suspect a child or young person may have cancer.
- An ongoing study of the paths to diagnosis for all children diagnosed with cancer will help us to better understand the lengths of delay and the barriers to prompt diagnosis.
The plan for the project is currently being finalised, and further news and updates will be provided on this page in due course.