Paediatric cancer: One in four present with musculoskeletal symptoms
Researchers warn of the overlap with symptoms of rheumatic diseases
Childhood cancer may present with musculoskeletal symptoms that mimic the features of rheumatic diseases, especially juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Italian researchers say.
The overlap of symptoms in some cases has the potential to lead to misdiagnosis, diagnostic delay and inappropriate use of glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive drugs, they caution.
The researchers studied 1277 children newly diagnosed with a malignancy and 680 newly diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).
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