GPs spot eighty per cent of cancers after two visits

More than eighty per cent of cancers diagnosed by GPs are spotted in the first two consultations, with more than half being referred to see a specialist at the first appointment, according to a new study by a team of scientists including Durham University. The research, published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Friday), looked at data from over 13,000 patients in order to measure the promptness of cancer diagnosis in primary care. They found that 82 per cent of people were referred after two visits, with over half of patients (58 per cent) referred to a specialist after the first visit. The study, by Durham, Cambridge and Bangor universities, has 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.