GPs asked to case find pancreatic cancer via patient records
The NHS has launched a pilot scheme which will see GP practices asked to help identify patients most at risk of pancreatic cancer.
GPs will be asked to go through patient records to flag people over the age of 60 who have the early warning signs of pancreatic cancer. This includes being recently diagnosed with diabetes and sudden weight loss.
If a patient’s weight is not recorded, GP practices will still have to reach out to patients to ask if they have unexpectedly lost weight and offer them the tests if they have new onset diabetes.
These at-risk patients will then be contacted and sent for urgent blood tests and CT scans to rule out cancer.
The three-year initiative will test whether dedicated and routine searches of patient records leads to earlier diagnosis and better outcomes.
Approximately half of patients who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have recently been diagnosed with diabetes.
Almost £2m in targeted funding will be provided to help practices reach out to the patients most at risk.
Over 300 GP practices will take part in the scheme, with a handful starting now and the rest in the autumn.
NHS statistics for April show that more than 200,000 people were diagnosed or given the all-clear for cancer within 28 days – 11,500 more than the previous year.
Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK with only 7% of people living five or more years after diagnosis.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, said: ‘Pancreatic cancer is responsible for so many deaths because patients don’t usually notice symptoms until the cancer is at an advanced stage, which is why we need to find new ways to pick it up.
‘Through initiatives like this and the upcoming 10-Year Health Plan the NHS is determined to go a step further – not just treat people at an advanced stage but to go out into communities and seek people out who might be unwell without any symptoms so we can provide people with the most effective treatment.
‘The NHS is seeing and treating more people with cancer than ever, and early diagnosis is key to ensure patients have the best chance of receiving effective treatment.
‘If your GP practice identifies you as at risk of pancreatic cancer, I urge you to come forward for testing as soon as possible.’
Dr Agnieszka Lemanska, senior lecturer in Health Data Science at the University of Surrey and lead evaluator for the pilot, added: ‘With this initiative, we are employing digital health technology to detect pancreatic cancer earlier and more efficiently.
‘Unexplained weight loss can be an early warning sign, especially in people with diabetes, but it is not always picked up.
‘We are creating tools which will help us use GP records more effectively to identify people through simple body weight and blood glucose control measurements.
‘This could be key to spotting pancreatic cancer early. The success of this pilot relies on high-quality and complete GP data, and with this scheme we are working to improve monitoring of body weight and blood glucose control.’
Last week Pulse reported that GPs should no longer have to do rectal exams when trying to diagnose prostate cancer due to poor detection, according to leading urologists.
And, the NHS in England announced that it was changing cervical cancer screening intervals from three to five years for women aged 25 to 49 years who have a negative HPV test.
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