The first CanTest International School for Cancer Detection Research in Primary Care was held earlier this month at Jesus College, Cambridge, with a focus on the challenges and cost-effectiveness of diagnostic testing in primary care. The week-long event, led by CanTest Director, Dr Fiona Walter, brought together international leaders in the primary care early detection […]
What explains variations between GP practices in endoscopy activity and urgent referral for suspected cancer? What can we learn from measures of patient experience?
First published by Silvia Mendonca on the CCHSR website, January 3rd 2018 Appropriately suspecting the diagnosis of cancer in primary care is important, but it is also hard. In this work, we looked into some of the factors that that may (or may not) influence decisions about referrals and endoscopic investigations. In our paper just […]
Understanding symptom appraisal and help-seeking in people with symptoms suggestive of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer is the ninth most common cancer in the UK, with about 8000 cases diagnosed every year. Only 22% men and 20% women currently survive pancreatic cancer for 1 year or more, and it has the poorest 5-year survival rates of all cancers at less than 4%. This poor prognosis is mainly due to patients […]
The challenges of diagnosing pancreatic cancer: new pointers for clinicians
No initial symptoms which differentiate between those diagnosed with and without pancreatic cancer were found in a new study from Dr Fiona Walter and colleagues at the Primary Care Unit, but key additional symptoms which may signal pancreatic cancer were identified. Pancreatic cancer – the tenth most common cancer in the UK – is difficult […]
Cancer prevention – developing risk based interventions in primary care: new approaches from Dr Juliet Usher-Smith
Dr Juliet Usher-Smith, Clinical Lecturer at the Primary Care Unit, has been awarded a Cancer Research UK Prevention Fellowship of almost £450k for her research entitled Developing a very brief intervention to promote behaviour change for cancer prevention in primary care. It is estimated that approximately 40% of cases of cancer are attributable to lifestyle […]