New evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on GP assessment of patients who may have cancer indicates need for urgent action. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically influenced different aspects of patients’ cancer pathways, from diagnosis to treatment, mortality and survival. Implications are also likely early in the diagnostic pathway, from symptom presentation to […]
Artificial intelligence techniques could help with earlier diagnosis of cancer in primary care: a systematic review
Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques can be applied to primary care data to facilitate the early diagnosis of cancer, according to the first international review of studies on this topic. Promising studies applied AI techniques to some elements of the electronic health record (EHR), but did not incorporate all of the available data. Some commercially developed […]
Blood test predicts ovarian cancer better than previously thought
A blood test already available to GPs in the UK is more predictive of ovarian cancer than previously thought and could also help pick up other forms of cancer, according to new research published in PLOS Medicine and funded by Cancer Research UK and NIHR. This study was led by Dr Garth Funston at the […]
The BEST3 trial: is the Cytosponge TFF3 biomarker test oven-ready for primary care?
The Cytosponge test could help diagnosis of Barrett’s oesophagus in people who are on medication for long term heartburn. A clinical trial led by Prof Rebecca Fitzgerald in Cambridge was published on 1st August 2020 in The Lancet. Here, CanTest Chair Prof Greg Rubin, who contributed primary care expertise to the trial, explains more about the test and […]
COVID-19 research in progress at the Primary Care Unit
During the COVID-19 pandemic, our members are developing research to address COVID-19 related challenges. New projects are described in summary here. Further details will be published as soon as possible. Meanwhile our staff have taken on extended clinical roles. See this post for details. New COVID-19-related research at the Unit 1. Using linked primary care […]
Which cancer diagnostic tests will work best in primary care? New CanTest Framework published today will help provide answers
The CanTest Framework, which provides a conceptual approach for the evaluation of cancer diagnostic tests from development to routine use in primary care, has been published today in BMC Cancer. Developed by the CanTest Senior Faculty team, this new framework addresses some key aspects missing from previous approaches. It incorporates a shift in focus away […]