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[Symptom presentation in cancer patients in general practice]
Tine Nørgaard Nielsen1, Rikke Pilegaard Hansen, Peter Vedsted
1Aarhus Universitet, Forskningsenheden for Almen Praksis, DK-8000 Århus C, Denmark. tine.nielsen@alm.au.dk
Ugeskrift for Laeger
|October 22, 2010
Summary
Cancer patients often consult general practitioners (GPs) with few, non-specific symptoms. This complicates early cancer diagnosis and necessitates exploring alternative referral pathways for patients presenting with general symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- General Practice
- Diagnostic Medicine
Context:
- Cancer diagnosis often initiates in primary care settings.
- General practitioners (GPs) are the first point of contact for the majority of cancer patients.
- Understanding initial patient presentations is crucial for timely diagnosis.
Purpose:
- To investigate the presenting symptoms of cancer patients consulting their general practitioner (GP).
- To analyze the types and frequency of symptoms reported by cancer patients.
- To examine GPs' interpretations of these initial symptoms.
Summary:
- A 1-year survey in Aarhus, Denmark, involved 2,212 newly diagnosed cancer patients and their GPs.
- Patients reported an average of 1.7 symptoms, with many presenting only one non-specific symptom.
- GPs interpreted symptoms as alarm in 49%, general in 24%, and non-cancer specific in 27% of cases.
Impact:
- Many cancer patients present with non-specific symptoms, challenging diagnostic work-up.
- The high proportion of non-alarm symptoms complicates the use of fast-track referrals for suspected cancer.
- There is a need for improved referral pathways for cancer patients with non-specific symptoms.
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