Children with suspected cancer may succumb to their bad condition shortly after admission,
even before a definitive diagnosis can be reached. We aimed to address the issue of
delayed presentation and early deaths among children suspected of having cancer. We
analyzed also the types and causes of mortalities across different tumor types.
Materials and methods
A retrospective review of reports from newly admitted patients between 2006 and 2010 at
the pediatric oncology department of the South Egypt Cancer Institute (SECI) was done.
Parameters included age, gender, diagnosis, symptoms, the interval between initial symptoms
and the first visit to SECI, the duration from admission to death, and the cause of
death.