Childhood cancers which take longest to diagnose revealed in new study

Teenagers and children with bone tumours in the UK are facing longer waits for cancer diagnosis, according to a new review.

Babies and those with kidney cancer wait the shortest period before they are diagnosed, academics found.

Researchers, led by University of Nottingham, analysed data on 2,000 children diagnosed with cancer between September 2020 and March 2023.

Untreated, tumours grow bigger and can spread around the body, requiring more extensive surgery and more intensive therapies to offer a cure.

On average, children with cancer were diagnosed within 4.6 weeks.

While some children were diagnosed on the same day their symptoms began, others waited up to six years, experts found.

The time to diagnosis was found to be longest among 15 to 18-year-olds, who waited for an average of 8.7 weeks before they were told they had cancer.

And those with bone cancer were found to wait for more than three months on average, or 12.6 weeks.

Meanwhile children under the age of one waited just 3.7 weeks before diagnosis and children with kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, waited for an average of 2.3 weeks before they were diagnosed.

But they said that overall, half of children and young people diagnosed with cancer in the UK are waiting for four weeks or more to be diagnosed.

They also studied where children were diagnosed and found the majority (67%) were diagnosed after a trip to A&E, after an emergency referral or emergency admission to hospital.

Some cancer types, including bone tumours, soft tissue tumours Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis and brain tumours, were associated with a higher number of medical visits before diagnosis.

Writing in the Lancet Regional Health – Europe, researchers said their work highlights “disparities for age and diagnostics groups” when it comes to cancer diagnoses as they called for more efforts to “accelerating diagnosis” for those facing “lengthy” waits.

They said the findings could help inform health officials as they draw up a national cancer plan for England.

Dr Shaarna Shanmugavadivel, from the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, said: “For the first time, we understand the current landscape of childhood cancer diagnosis in the UK.

“There is an urgent need to focus efforts on young people and tumour types such as bone tumours that are still experiencing lengthy intervals.

“Earliest possible diagnosis is key as time is crucial.

“Untreated, tumours grow bigger and can spread around the body, requiring more extensive surgery and more intensive therapies to offer cure.

“The findings will help focus efforts towards closing the gap for these groups, ensuring more children and young people receive a diagnosis sooner.”

Ashley Ball-Gamble, chief executive of CCLG: The Children and Young People’s Cancer Association, and co-author of the study, added: “It’s crucial that we understand why certain groups, such as older teenagers, or those with certain cancers, such as bone and brain tumours, are likely to face a lengthier diagnosis.

“By recognising these differences, we hope to work towards faster diagnoses and improved survival rates.”

Published: 28/05/2025 by Radio NewsHub