Quarter of cancer patients experience avoidable diagnosis delay

A new study by Cancer Research UK has found that one in four cancer patients experienced a delay to their diagnosis that could have been avoided.

Published in Cancer Epidemiology, the study analyses data from the national cancer registry of around 14,300 people diagnosed with cancer in England in one year. It found that nearly 3,400 patients experienced a delay that could have been avoided. Half of these patients waited around two months longer to be diagnosed compared with those who didn’t have an avoidable delay.

The study authors asked GPs to identify when the delay happened - before the patient saw their GP, while they were still being assessed by the GP practice or after they had referred them. The data showed that 13 per cent of all avoidable delays happened before the patient saw their GP and 38 per cent after the GP referred them to hospital. The other half occurred while the patient was being assessed by the GP surgery including waiting for tests to be done and results to be sent back.

Patients with pre-existing conditions were also more likely to experience an avoidable delay, possibly because it can be difficult to distinguish between symptoms that could be attributed to another health condition and those that could be an indicator of cancer.

Sara Hiom, Cancer Research UK’s director of early diagnosis, said: “Trying to find cancer in people with a range of symptoms and other conditions is very complicated. And while NHS doctors and nurses are doing everything they can to see patients quickly, the NHS is experiencing a staffing crisis. There simply aren’t enough people in the NHS to read scans or report tests swiftly.

“Waiting for a possible cancer diagnosis is an extremely anxious time, so no one should have to wait longer than is absolutely necessary. The Government will never achieve the diagnosis and survival ambitions they have set unless they urgently address NHS workforce issues. Without more of the right staff, including GPs, it will be impossible to diagnose and treat patients more swiftly and effectively.”