A
computer program could help busy GPs spot patients who might have cancer, say
UK experts.
 |
|
Tiredness, weight loss and
persistent
cough can be symptoms of lung cancer
|
It
estimates the risk of five types of cancer, including hard-to-detect conditions
such as ovarian and pancreatic cancer, based on symptoms.
If
cancer is a possible diagnosis, it alerts the GP and suggests more tests.
Practices
in England and Wales have been testing the software in a pilot scheme which is
partly funded by the Department of Health.
Macmillan
Cancer Support, the charity behind the work, hopes the electronic Cancer
Decision Support programme could be rolled out to surgeries across the UK from
next year.
Dr
Rosie Loftus, lead GP adviser at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "GPs have
a vital role to play in ensuring that cancer is diagnosed at an early stage to
give people the best possible chance of survival.
Early
referral
"When
you've only got around 10 minutes with each patient, it's vital that you ask
the right questions and are able to quickly calculate someone's risk in order
to facilitate an early referral."
The
program can estimate cancer risk for oesophago-gastric, lung, colorectal,
pancreatic and ovarian cancers and alerts GPs to cancer risk as soon as a
patient tells them about a symptom.
For
instance, if a patient visits their GP complaining of nausea and returns three
weeks later with difficulty swallowing, the program detects that the patient
could be at risk of oesophageal cancer.
Prof
Willie Hamilton, a GP researcher based at the University of Exeter, and one of
those upon whose work the tool is based, said: "Despite the fact that more
than one in three of us will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime, cancer
cases are still relatively unusual occurrences for GPs to encounter during
their day-to-day practice.
"We've
designed a system that doesn't replace their knowledge or training, but could
be used alongside their notes to give extra information."
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