Lifespan and Population Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group, Leicester, UK.
Arch Dis Child. 2023 Dec;108(12):987-993. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2023-325841. Epub 2023 Oct 17.
To assess public awareness of the risks and symptoms of cancer in children, teenagers, and young adults (CTYA) aged <18 years in Great Britain.
A face-to-face computer-assisted opinion survey was conducted by Ipsos MORI. Participants were a population-based sample of 1000 adults (475 men, 525 women) aged >18 years, with 26% having children aged 6-15 in their households. Questions covered perception about cumulative cancer risk, confidence in recognising signs and symptoms, recognition and perceived urgency of classical signs and symptoms.
Only 32% of respondents felt confident in recognising CTYA cancer signs and symptoms. Symptoms deemed to require medical assessment within 48 hours by over 50% of participants included seizures/fits, blood in urine or stool, and persistent vomiting. All symptoms except one were selected for assessment within 3 months. On average, respondents identified 10.6 out of 42 classical signs and symptoms. The most recognised symptoms included lump, swelling in pelvis, testicle or breast (46%), blood in urine or stool (44%), changes to moles (43%), lump/swelling in the chest wall or armpits (41%) and weight loss (40%). The least recognised symptoms were early/late puberty (10%), developmental delay in children aged <2 years (11%) and slow growth (13%), with 8%, 2% and 6%, respectively, perceiving no need to discuss them with a doctor.
Public awareness of childhood cancer risks and symptoms is substantially lower compared with adult cancer awareness in Great Britain. These findings indicate knowledge and awareness gaps among the general public, highlighting the need for a child cancer awareness campaign.
评估英国<18 岁儿童、青少年和青年（CTYA）癌症风险和症状的公众认知。
Ipsos MORI 进行了面对面的计算机辅助意见调查。参与者是一个基于人群的 1000 名成年人（475 名男性，525 名女性）样本，其中 26%的人家庭中有 6-15 岁的孩子。问题涵盖了对累积癌症风险的认知、识别体征和症状的信心、对典型体征和症状的识别和认知以及紧迫性。
只有 32%的受访者对识别 CTYA 癌症体征和症状有信心。超过 50%的参与者认为需要在 48 小时内进行医疗评估的症状包括癫痫发作/发作、血尿或粪便中的血液以及持续呕吐。除一项症状外，所有症状均被选为 3 个月内评估。受访者平均识别出 42 种经典体征和症状中的 10.6 种。最被识别的症状包括肿块、骨盆、睾丸或乳房肿胀（46%）、血尿或粪便中的血液（44%）、痣的变化（43%）、胸壁或腋窝的肿块/肿胀（41%）和体重减轻（40%）。最不被识别的症状是青春期早期/晚期（10%）、<2 岁儿童发育迟缓（11%）和生长缓慢（13%），分别有 8%、2%和 6%的人认为不需要与医生讨论这些症状。
与英国成人癌症意识相比，公众对儿童癌症风险和症状的认识要低得多。这些发现表明普通大众存在知识和认知差距，突出了开展儿童癌症宣传活动的必要性。
