Measures of promptness of cancer diagnosis in primary care: Secondary analysis of national audit data on patients with 18 common and rarer cancers
dc.contributor.author | Lyratzopoulos, G | |
dc.contributor.author | Abel, GA | |
dc.contributor.author | McPhail, S | |
dc.contributor.author | Neal, RD | |
dc.contributor.author | Rubin, GP | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2019-02-12T10:36:49Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2013-02-07 | |
dc.description.abstract | Background: Evidence is needed about the promptness of cancer diagnosis and associations between its measures. Methods: We analysed data from the National Audit of Cancer Diagnosis in Primary Care 2009-10 exploring the association between the interval from first symptomatic presentation to specialist referral (the primary care interval, or 'interval' hereafter) and the number of pre-referral consultations. Results: Among 13 035 patients with any of 18 different cancers, most (82%) were referred after 1 (58%) or 2 (25%) consultations (median intervals 0 and 15 days, respectively) while 9%, 4% and 5% patients required 3, 4 or 5+ consultations (median intervals 34, 47 and 97 days, respectively) (Spearman's r=0.70). The association was at least moderate for any cancer (Spearman's r range: 0.55 (prostate)-0.77 (brain)). Patients with cancers with a higher proportion of three or more pre-referral consultations typically also had longer median intervals (e.g., multiple myeloma) and vice versa (e.g., breast cancer). Conclusion: The number of pre-referral consultations has construct validity as a measure of the primary care interval. Developing interventions to reduce the number of pre-referral consultations can help improve the timeliness of cancer diagnosis, and constitutes a priority for early diagnosis initiatives and research. © 2013 Cancer Research UK. All rights reserved. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Vol. 108, pp. 686 - 690 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1038/bjc.2013.1 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/35911 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Springer Nature / Cancer Research UK | en_GB |
dc.rights | © 2013 Cancer Research UK. Open access. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ | en_GB |
dc.title | Measures of promptness of cancer diagnosis in primary care: Secondary analysis of national audit data on patients with 18 common and rarer cancers | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2019-02-12T10:36:49Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0007-0920 | |
dc.description | This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer Nature via the DOI in this record | en_GB |
dc.identifier.journal | British Journal of Cancer | en_GB |
dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ | en_GB |
pubs.euro-pubmed-id | MED:23392082 | |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2012-12-16 | |
rioxxterms.version | VoR | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2012-12-16 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2019-02-12T10:35:04Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | VoR | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2019-02-12T10:36:51Z | |
refterms.panel | A | en_GB |
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as © 2013 Cancer Research UK. Open access. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/