One-third of emergency cancer patients ‘had not consulted their GP’

A significant proportion of emergency cancer patients have not previously seen their GP about their condition, according to new research.

Conducted by University College London, the University of Cambridge, the University of Exeter and Public Health England, the study analysed data from more than 4,600 cancer patients to find out how many times they had visited their GP before their disease was diagnosed as an emergency.

It was found that 34 percent of those included in the research had not previously been seen by a doctor at all, with men, the elderly and those from more deprived backgrounds all more likely to have had no prior GP visits.

The report also showed that 23 per cent of patients had visited their GP three or more times before being diagnosed as an emergency, possibly because they had harder-to-spot forms of the disease such as myeloma and lung cancer.

Others experienced symptoms at a young age, which can make a cancer diagnosis less likely, or may have had symptoms that are more unusual, making multiple visits less surprising.

Dr Julie Sharp, head of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: "We need to continue to increase awareness of cancer signs and symptoms and help break down the barriers preventing people from seeing their GP earlier, whilst GPs need better access to the right tests and referral routes."

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