HMC has urged parents to closely monitor their children’s health by constantly watching out for any unusual signs and symptoms.
With September being Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, it is a time to honour and remember children and families affected by cancer, and rally support to provide children with cancer better outcomes by supporting ground-
breaking research in cancer.
HMC has advised parents who notice any cancer-related signs and symptoms in their children to seek urgent medical advice or get a referral to see cancer specialists at Hamad General Hospital’s paediatrics department.
The most common cancers of children are: leukaemia, brain and other central nervous system tumours like lymphoma and solid tumours such as neuroblastoma, Wilms tumour, rhabdomyosarcoma, retinoblastoma and bone cancer.
Leukaemia, which is a group of cancers of the bone marrow and blood, is the most common childhood cancer. Most childhood Leukaemia is acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) and most of the remaining cases are acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Chronic leukaemia is rare in children.
“Patients with acute leukaemia can present with general symptoms such as bone and joint pain, fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite, pale skin, bleeding or bruising, weight loss, painless lumps in the neck, underarm, or groin and other symptoms. Acute leukaemias can grow quickly, so they need to be treated as soon as they are found,” said Dr Naema Ali al-Mulla, senior consultant in haematology and oncology at HMC’s paediatrics department.
ALL is most common in early childhood, peaking between two and four years of age. Cases of AML are more spread out across the childhood years, but they are slightly more common during the first two years of life and during the teenage years.
“Leukaemia is a cancer that starts in early blood-forming cells. Most often, leukaemia is a cancer of the white blood cells, but some leukaemia starts in other blood cell types,” explained Dr al-Mulla, pointing out that once a normal cell turns into a leukaemia cell, they don’t go through the normal process of maturing. “In most cases, the leukaemia cells spill into the bloodstream fairly quickly and from there it can spread to the rest of the body.”
She stressed that leukaemia cells build up in the bone marrow and can congest the growth of normal blood cells. “As a result, a child may not have enough normal red blood cells, white blood cells and blood platelets.”
Dr al-Mulla noted that the leukaemia cells may invade other areas of the body, which can also cause symptoms such as fatigue and pale skin, infections and fever, easy bleeding or bruising, bone or joint pain, swelling of the abdomen, loss of appetite, headaches, vomiting and trouble breathing, swollen lymph nodes, swelling of the face and arms, rashes and gum problems.
The paediatric haematology/oncology expert mentioned that there are a few known risk factors for childhood leukaemia. “Some risk factors are genetic factors which are part of the DNA; some are due to: inherited syndrome like Down Syndrome; having a brother or sister with leukaemia; environmental risk factors; radiation exposure; and immune system suppression.”
She stated that the exact cause of most cases of childhood leukaemia is not known and that most children with leukaemia do not have any known risk factors. “It’s important to diagnose childhood leukaemia as early as possible and to determine what type of leukaemia it is so that treatment can be tailored to provide the best chance of success,” Dr al-Mulla stressed.