Early General Practitioner Referrals Lead to Cancer Patients Living Longer, Study Finds

Early general practitioner (GP) referrals result in cancer patients living longer, according to the results of a new study published in the British Journal of General Practice.

In this study, researchers assessed 1.4 million cancer patients in England. They looked at cases of breast, lung, prostrate and colorectal cancers using data from the National Cancer Registry. Their findings showed that increases in primary care referrals and access to diagnostic tests enables more cancers to be diagnosed.

“As a GP, considering a cancer diagnosis is not easy. A typical full time GP would have 8-9 new cancer cases per year but sees many patients who have symptoms which could be due to cancer. The urgent referral, or two-week wait pathway, is very helpful for both patients, with potentially worrying symptoms, and their GPs who can fast track them to have a specialist review or tests. This research shows that GPs are referring substantially more patients with suspected cancer, which is making a real impact in improving cancer outcomes in the NHS.” said Dr Thomas Round, from King’s College London and PHE in a press release about the study.

https://twitter.com/mytotalhealthng/status/1252422182216454154

Dr. Round added that “clearly the current COVID19 situation is putting a significant strain on health services, including for potentially serious conditions, such as suspected cancer referrals and cancer treatment once diagnosed. This is clearly a worrying time for patients and NHS staff. We have some reports of patients delaying seeking help because they think their GP practice or A&E departments are closed. This is not the case, with GP practices adapting with use of telephone, video and online appointments. It is important if patients are experiencing worrying symptoms to contact their GP practice. Whilst the assessments may be different, and NHS capacity is stretched, we are still trying to facilitate urgent two week wait referrals in collaboration with our hospital colleagues. With approximately 450 cancer deaths per day in the UK it’s important that we continue urgent referrals, diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients.”

Early GP referrals are leading to cancer patients surviving longer https://t.co/rn1i1qsS2E via @instapaper

— James Igoe (@JamesJosephIgoe) April 22, 2020

Early GP referrals are leading to cancer patients surviving longer https://t.co/WmbrXJHidl

— Science Codex (@sciencecodex) April 21, 2020