Symptoms of tumors in children

Pain in the knee area does not always indicate cancer. They can also be associated with trauma or with the growing process. Then the pain is symmetrical, involving both limbs. Most often it is located in front of the tibia. Pain does not disturb your gait and is self-limiting. On the other hand, if the pain is initially felt only during physical activity, and sometimes also at night, it may be a sign of soft tissue sarcoma or an extra-bone form of Ewing’s sarcoma. Knee pain also occurs in neuroblastoma and bone metastases. They are also characteristic of leukemias and bone tumors of different histological malignancy. They also occur in the case of secondary involvement of the skeletal system by the neoplastic process. Pain complaints usually appear in children in the second decade of life, higher than their peers. It is especially disturbing when one limb is thinner than the other. It should also be remembered that there are so-called radiating pains, the source of which is distant from the place where we feel the ailment. Therefore, when the child has knee pain and the doctor does not find any changes in this area, the hip area should be examined.

Femoral or sciatic pains that last more than a week may be caused by a tumor that grows in the spinal canal (lymphoma, ganglion) or in the vertebrae (Ewing’s sarcoma).

Anemia may be a sign of leukemia, most commonly affecting children between the ages of four and five, and is accompanied by apathy, lethargy, reluctance to play, and a tendency to easily bruise and bruise, even after minor injuries.

These types of symptoms are associated with an increase in intracranial pressure in the course of brain tumors. Sometimes the first symptom is seizures. In the case of tumors located in the spinal cord, the most common clinical symptoms are back and limb pain, especially at night, limb paresis and sensory disturbances. Increasing morning headaches, relieving after vomiting, are characteristic of tumors located in the posterior cavity of the skull. Brain tumors in children are most often diagnosed in the eighth year of life.

An enlarged abdomen in a child is typical of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, in the course of which the lymph nodes grow rapidly. Parents often believe that a large belly is the result of the fact that the child is full. The diagnosis they often hear from their doctor is mumps or other infectious diseases of childhood. Of course, usually the lymph nodes enlarge with various infections, while the lymph nodes affected by the neoplastic process are usually larger and painless. Often, enlarged lymph nodes are accompanied by sweating, weight loss, abdominal pain, and general weakness.

Changes in the appearance of the iris and pupil of the eye (cat’s reflection), and even of the entire eyeball, are characteristic of retinoblastoma. This malignant neoplasm of the eye retina most often occurs in children 2-3 years of age. It can be localized in one eye or both. Often a child with this cancer has a family history of similar cases.

Abdominal enlargement, abdominal pain, vomiting, haematuria, constipation, weight loss, urinary tract infections, diarrhea, anorexia, symptoms of acute abdomen may indicate Wilms’ tumor, the most common childhood kidney tumor. The tumor occurs in children between the ages of two and five, on average at 3,7 years of age. After the age of 11, it is rarely diagnosed.

These symptoms could be symptoms of a sympathetic neuroblastoma. Depending on the location, there may be pain symptoms or visible nodular changes may be felt. Often, while bathing a child, parents find a hard, immobile tumor in the abdomen when palpated. The symptoms of neuroblastoma depend on where the tumor is located. And it can develop wherever there are sympathetic elements, that is, practically throughout the body. However, most often (about 80% of cases) it develops in the abdominal cavity. Cancer is diagnosed mainly in young children up to the age of three, although it can also be found in older children.

The described symptoms, although characteristic of neoplasms, do not necessarily indicate a proliferative process. However, it is worth paying attention to them, especially if the changes appear suddenly and do not disappear despite the use of standard treatment. It is also worth remembering that the appearance of a lump in any area of ​​the body integuments and its constant enlargement is always an alarming symptom and requires urgent consultation with a doctor. Neoplasms in children are characterized by a very high growth dynamics. It’s important not to miss the initial symptoms. The more so as the chances of an early diagnosis of cancer in a child are very good. It is estimated that if cancers were diagnosed in the first stage of advancement, their cure rate would be almost 100%.