The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Observational Study
Intra-abdominal cancer risk with abdominal pain: a prospective cohort primary care study.
Quantifying cancer risk in primary care patients with abdominal pain informs diagnostic strategies. ⋯ Abdominal pain increases intra-abdominal cancer risk nearly fourfold in men aged ≥70 years, exceeding the 3% threshold warranting investigation. This threshold is surpassed for the >60 years age group only with additional features. These results will help direct appropriate referral and testing strategies for patients based on their demographic profile and reporting features. The authors suggest non-invasive strategies first, such as faecal immunochemical testing, with safety-netting in a shared decision-making framework.