SpringerLink
Log in

Time to diagnosis and clinical characteristics in pediatric brain tumor patients

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Child's Nervous System Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

We aimed to identify factors that affect the time to diagnosis in pediatric brain tumors and investigate the effect of time to diagnosis on clinical outcome.

Methods

A retrospective study of children with brain tumors aged less than 18 years diagnosed at the University of Tsukuba Hospital over a period of 7 years was conducted.

Results

Eighty-five consecutive patients, with a mean age of 9.1 years, were included in the study. The median interval from symptom onset to diagnosis was 45 days (range 0–1673); median interval from symptom onset to first presentation was 31.0 days; and median interval from first presentation to diagnosis was 13.5 days. Germinoma had the longest interval from symptom onset to first presentation, and from first presentation to diagnosis. Patients presenting with endocrine disorder had a significantly longer interval from symptom onset to first presentation (p = 0.019); those with visual disturbance (p = 0.016) or endocrine disorder (p = 0.030) had significantly longer intervals from first presentation to diagnosis.

Conclusion

Pediatric brain tumor patients with germinoma and presenting symptoms of endocrine disorder or visual disturbance have a longer time to diagnosis. Although improved prognosis is not clearly related to a shorter time to diagnosis, we believe that early diagnosis can lead to improved treatment and better quality of life. A detailed medical history and neuroimaging studies at the earliest time possible are important for early diagnosis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Abdelkhalek ER, Sherief LM, Kamal NM, Soliman RM (2014) Factors associated with delayed cancer diagnosis in Egyptian children. Clin Med Insights Pediatr 8:CMPed.S16413–6. https://doi.org/10.4137/CMPed.S16413

  2. Aggarwal A, Herz N, Campbell P, Arkush L, Short S, Rees J (2015) Diagnostic delay and survival in high-grade gliomas - evidence of the ‘waiting time paradox’? Br J Neurosurg 29:520–523. https://doi.org/10.3109/02688697.2015.1012050

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Ahrensberg JM, Olesen F, Hansen RP, Schrøder H, Vedsted P (2013) Childhood cancer and factors related to prolonged diagnostic intervals: a Danish population-based study. Br J Cancer 108:1280–1287. https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2013.88

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Arnautovic A, Billups C, Broniscer A, Gajjar A, Boop F, Qaddoumi I (2015) Delayed diagnosis of childhood low-grade glioma: causes, consequences, and potential solutions. Childs Nerv Syst 31:1067–1077. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-015-2670-1

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Azizi AA, Heßler K, Leiss U, Grylli C, Chocholous M, Peyrl A, Gojo J, Slavc I (2017) From symptom to diagnosis—the prediagnostic symptomatic interval of pediatric central nervous system tumors in Austria. Pediatr Neurol 76:27–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2017.08.006

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Brown BJ, James BO, Ajayi SO, Ogun OA, Oladokun RE (2009) Factors influencing time to diagnosis of childhood cancer in Ibadan, Nigeria. Afr Health Sci 9:247–253

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Dang-Tan T, Franco EL (2007) Diagnosis delays in childhood cancer: a review. Cancer 110:703–713. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.22849

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Dang-Tan T, Trottier H, Mery LS, Morrison HI, Barr RD, Greenberg ML, Franco EL (2008) Delays in diagnosis and treatment among children and adolescents with cancer in Canada. Pediatr Blood Cancer 51:468–474. https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.21600

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Halperin EC, Friedman HS (1996) Is there a correlation between duration of presenting symptoms and stage of medulloblastoma at the time of diagnosis? Cancer 78:874–880. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0142(19960815)78:4<874::AID-CNCR26>3.0.CO;2-R

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Molineus A, Boxberger N, Redlich A, Vorwerk P (2013) Time to diagnosis of brain tumors in children: a single-centre experience. Pediatr Int 55:305–309. https://doi.org/10.1111/ped.12095

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Nakajima Y, Yamada K, Imamura K, Kobayashi K (2008) Radiologist supply and workload: international comparison. Radiat Med 26:455–465. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-008-0259-2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Neal RD (2009) Do diagnostic delays in cancer matter & quest. Br J Cancer 101:S9–S12. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6605384

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Patel V, McNinch NL, Rush S (2019) Diagnostic delay and morbidity of central nervous system tumors in children and young adults: a pediatric hospital experience. J Neuro-Oncol 143:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-019-03160-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Phi JH, Kim S-K, Lee YA, Shin CH, Cheon J-E, Kim I-O, Yang SW, Wang K-C (2013) Latency of intracranial germ cell tumors and diagnosis delay. Childs Nerv Syst 29:1871–1881. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-013-2164-y

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Shay V, Fattal-Valevski A, Beni-Adani L, Constantini S (2011) Diagnostic delay of pediatric brain tumors in Israel: a retrospective risk factor analysis. Childs Nerv Syst 28:93–100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-011-1564-0

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Shibui S (2012) The present status and trend of brain tumors based on the data of the brain tumor registry of Japan. Brain Nerve 64:286–290

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Stocco C, Pilotto C, Passone E, Nocerino A, Tosolini R, Pusiol A, Cogo P (2017) Presentation and symptom interval in children with central nervous system tumors. A single-center experience. Childs Nerv Syst 33:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-017-3572-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Ueoka DI, Nogueira J, Campos JC, Filho PM, Ferman S, Lima MA (2009) Brainstem gliomas—retrospective analysis of 86 patients. J Neurol Sci 281:20–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2009.03.009

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Vasquez L, Oscanoa M, Tello M, Tapia E, Maza I, Geronimo J (2016) Factors associated with the latency to diagnosis of childhood cancer in Peru. Pediatr Blood Cancer 63:1959–1965. https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.26134

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Wilne S, Collier J, Kennedy C, Koller K, Grundy R, Walker D (2007) Presentation of childhood CNS tumours: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Oncol 8:685–695. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(07)70207-3

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Zhang Y, Deng K, Zhu H, Lu L, Pan H, Ma W, Wang R, Yao Y (2019) Delays in diagnosis of pediatric histologically confirmed sellar germ cell tumors in China: a retrospective risk factor analysis. World Neurosurg 122:e472–e479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2018.10.082

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Enago for English language editing.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, 305-8575, Ibaraki, Japan

    Koji Hirata, Ai Muroi, Takao Tsurubuchi, Eiichi Ishikawa & Akira Matsumura

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan

    Hiroko Fukushima, Ryoko Suzuki & Yuni Yamaki

Authors
  1. Koji Hirata
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ai Muroi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Takao Tsurubuchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hiroko Fukushima
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ryoko Suzuki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yuni Yamaki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Eiichi Ishikawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Akira Matsumura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ai Muroi.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethics approval

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Tsukuba Hospital.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hirata, K., Muroi, A., Tsurubuchi, T. et al. Time to diagnosis and clinical characteristics in pediatric brain tumor patients. Childs Nerv Syst 36, 2047–2054 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-020-04573-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-020-04573-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation