Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

Abstract

Childhood cancers are increasingly recognised as disorders of tissue growth and development, through early life into adulthood. A rising proportion are currently considered to be related to a familial predisposition or associated with identified genetic mutations in predisposition genes. Their threat to life and risk of associated serious disability at diagnosis and need for complex life saving therapies makes them a research priority. Inadequate progress has been made in diagnosing childhood cancers earlier within global health systems, which means that their clinical presentations are either missed altogether or constitute high risk emergencies. Whilst knowledge of tumour biology has improved dramatically over the last decade due to the expansion in research technologies directed at innovative approaches to prognostication and treatment. A concerted research initiative to apply this knowledge to making the diagnosis of childhood cancers at earlier points in tumourgenesis has not developed. The risk for a child getting a cancer by the age of 5 is equivalent to the risks of the conditions selected as part of newborn population screening for rare inherited health conditions and is nearly 3 times that at age 18 years. We are proposing that research directed at accelerating cancer diagnosis for children by focussing upon feasibility and acceptability of linking targeted surveillance with population screening for all childhood cancers. This would be supported by enhanced public and professional awareness of a child’s risks of cancer and the range of clinical presentations. We suggest this must now be a top priority for research because of the potential for improving outcomes for treatment of all types of cancer and reducing the burden of disability and late effects of therapy.

People
Apps, John
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

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Halsey, Christina
Author

Samarakoon, Youhan and Yelland, Tamas and Garcia-Gonzalez, Esther and Justo-Junior, Amauri da Silva and Mahmood, Mahnoor and Manoharan, Anand and Patterson, Shaun and Serafin, Valentina and Gammage, Payam A. and Marmiroli, Sandra and Halsey, Christina and Ismail, Shehab and Roberts, Edward W. (2025) UNC119 regulates T-cell receptor signalling in primary T cells and T acute lymphocytic leukaemia. Life Science Alliance, 8 (3): e202403066. ISSN 2575-1077

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

Anastasopoulou, Stavroula and Swann, Gemma and Andres-Jensen, Liv and Attarbaschi, Andishe and Barzilai-Birenboim, Shlomit and Erdelyi, Daniel J. and Escherich, Gabriele and Hamadeh, Lina and Harila, Arja and Lopez-Lopez, Elixabet and McGowan, Sheena and Möricke, Anja and Putti, Caterina and Sagi, Judit C. and Schmiegelow, Kjeld and Ullrich, Nicole J. and van der Sluis, Inge M. and ul-Ain Wahid, Qurat and Winick, Naomi and Sramkova, Lucie and Zalcberg, Yair and Zapotocka, Ester and Bhojwani, Deepa and Halsey, Christina (2024) Severe steroid-related neuropsychiatric symptoms during paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia therapy—An observational Ponte di Legno Toxicity Working Group Study. British Journal of Haematology, 205 (4). pp. 1450-1459. ISSN 0007-1048

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Pritchard Jones, Kathy
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

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Atun, Rifat
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

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Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

See full publications list
Oliver, Kathy
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

See full publications list
Vedhara, Kavita
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

See full publications list
Liu, JoFen
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

See full publications list
Ball-Gamble, Ashley
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

See full publications list
Ranasinghe, Neil
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

See full publications list
Polanco, Angela
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

See full publications list
Adamski, Jenny
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

See full publications list
Green, Adam
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

See full publications list
Walker, David A.
Author

Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A. (2024) A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance. EJC Paediatric Oncology, 4: 100191. ISSN 2772-610X

See full publications list
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Title:
A review calling for research directed at early detection of childhood cancers: the clinical, scientific, and economic arguments for population screening and surveillance
Creators:
Apps, John and Halsey, Christina and Pritchard Jones, Kathy and Atun, Rifat and Shanmugavadivel, Dhurgshaarna and Oliver, Kathy and Vedhara, Kavita and Liu, JoFen and Ball-Gamble, Ashley and Ranasinghe, Neil and Polanco, Angela and Adamski, Jenny and Green, Adam and Walker, David A.
Identification Number:
10.1016/j.ejcped.2024.100191
Date:
December 2024
Divisions:
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences
Publisher:
Elsevier
Additional Information:
Funding Dhurgshaarna Shanmugavadivel (DS) has been funded by the NIHR (DRF-2018–11-ST2–055) and now funded by the CCLG. JoFen Liu was funded by the Children's Brain Tumour Research Centre at University of Nottingham and is now funded by Childrens Cancer and Leulaeemia Group (CCLG) Ashley Gamble is CEO for the Childrens Cancer and Leulaeemia Group (CCLG) Chris Halsey is funded by Cancer Research UK (Programme Foundation Award) (DRCPFA-Nov21\100001) (CH) Dr John Apps (JA) is funded by the University of Birmingham and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He was previously funded by an NIHR Academic Clinical Lectureship through the University of Birmingham. JA currently receives research funding from the Little Princess Trust, Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, Help Harry Help Others and the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre.
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https://pub.demo35.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/90
Item Type:
Article
Depositing User:
Unnamed user with email ejo1f20@soton.ac.uk
Date Deposited:
11 Jun 2025 16:34
Revision:
21
Last Modified:
12 Jun 2025 12:36
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