More than 80% of patients suspected of having cancer are being referred by their GP to a specialist within their first two consultations, with more than half being sent to see a specialist at the first appointment, according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Researchers from the universities of Cambridge, Durham and Bangor looked at data from over 13,000 patients to measure the promptness of cancer diagnosis in primary care. They found that 82% of people were referred after two visits, with over half of patients referred to a specialist after the first visit. The study also revealed that some cancers are proving harder to spot in the first few consultations, such as lung cancer and myeloma. This may be because they often produce symptoms that are common and not unique to cancer, so can be mistaken for less serious conditions. The findings show that, the more consultations a patient needs, the greater number of weeks between first presentation and referral. With most of the patients who have these harder-to-spot cancers, it takes longer before there is a suspicion of cancer and they are seen by hospital specialists.
