The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Multicenter Study
Identifying patients with suspected gastro-oesophageal cancer in primary care: derivation and validation of an algorithm.
Gastro-oesphageal is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Evidence suggested that increased awareness of symptoms and earlier diagnosis could help improve treatment options and improve survival. ⋯ The algorithm has good performance and could potentially be used to help identify those at highest risk of gastro-oesophageal cancer, to facilitate early referral and investigation.
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Multicenter Study
Urgent suspected cancer referrals from general practice: audit of compliance with guidelines and referral outcomes.
Late diagnosis contributes to the UK having poorer cancer survival than many countries in Europe. Cancer referral guidelines help GPs decide which patients to refer urgently for further investigation. ⋯ There is wide variation in GP referral rates for suspected cancer with a greater than expected proportion of referrals for younger people. Many referrals considered to be outside the national guidelines were diagnosed with cancer, suggesting factors other than those in referral guidelines alert GPs to the possibility of cancer.