Around two thirds of patients with cancer diagnosed in England first present to primary care so encouraging timely referral of those with signs and symptoms of possible cancer is crucial to improve patient outcomes.
Cancer referral guidelines play a key role in supporting healthcare professionals to identify individuals with suspected cancer in a timely and consistent manner. Most UK guidelines use risk thresholds to determine which patients warrant urgent suspected cancer investigation or referral. These thresholds are based on the positive predictive value (PPV) of signs and symptoms alone or in combination.
Read the full article in the British Journal of General Practice.