• Childhood cancer is the biggest medical cause of death in children aged 1 – 14 in the United Kingdom.

​

• The average GP surgery would expect to see a case of cancer in a child or young person approximately every two and a half years.

​

• The average practicing GP would expect to see a case of childhood cancer just under every 11 years, meaning they may see 3 or 4 cases in a career.

​

Beware of:

• children presenting with 2 or more red flag symptoms (see below)

• 3 or more presentations for the same problem (consider referral)

• marked parental concern

​

 

How can we identify these children out of those presenting with of normal childhood illnesses?

Look for:

• symptoms that are persistent, unusual or worsening for example well localized pain that wakes a child up from sleep.

• recurrent attendances (thought to increase the chance of a cancer diagnosis up to ten fold).

 

​