Spanish paediatric cancer Dx (diagnosis) needs:

The early confirmatory diagnosis of cancer in children has become a top priority - as well as a leading challenge - in Spain, according to the national paediatrics association (AEP). Some 900 new cases per million children (aged 0-15 years) are recorded annually, of which 40% occur in the 1-4-year age range, and 20% in those aged 5-9. Speaking at the association's annual conference, held last week in Barcelona, Dr Josep Sanchez de Toledo, of the city's Val d'Hebron hospital, noted the difficulty in differentiating the symptoms of common, far less serious conditions - headaches, bone/joint pain, abdominal swelling or a cough - from the first signs of cancer. "Much progress has been made, but the prevalence rates make it necessary to intensify early diagnosis [efforts]," he said. Meanwhile, survival rates have improved by around 20% over the last two decades, to 76%, the AEP says, citing data from the national paediatric cancer register.