Delays in spotting the early signs and symptoms of cancer could be costing the lives of thousands of people in England and Wales every year, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). To tackle this issue it is updating its guidance to better support GPs and other primary healthcare professionals, and ultimately improve early diagnosis rates.
The draft guideline uses tables to clearly set out which symptoms could be linked to which cancers and provides clear recommendations for tests and referral to specialist services. It also sets out how long people should wait to be seen by a specialist once they have been referred to hospital.
