Rafiq, Meena;
Drosdowsky, Allison;
Solomon, Ben;
Alexander, Marliese;
Gibbs, Peter;
Wright, Gavin;
Yeung, Justin M;
... Emery, Jon; + view all
(2024)
Trends in primary care blood tests prior to lung and colorectal cancer diagnosis—A retrospective cohort study using linked Australian data.
Cancer Medicine
, 13
(14)
, Article e70006. 10.1002/cam4.70006.
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Abstract
Introduction: Abnormal results in common blood tests may occur several months before lung cancer (LC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis. Identifying early blood markers of cancer and distinct blood test signatures could support earlier diagnosis in general practice. Methods: Using linked Australian primary care and hospital cancer registry data, we conducted a cohort study of 855 LC and 399 CRC patients diagnosed between 2001 and 2021. Requests and results from general practice blood tests (six acute phase reactants [APR] and six red blood cell indices [RBCI]) were examined in the 2 years before cancer diagnosis. Poisson regression models were used to estimate monthly incidence rates and examine pre-diagnostic trends in blood test use and abnormal results prior to cancer diagnosis, comparing patterns in LC and CRC patients. Results: General practice blood test requests increase from 7 months before CRC and 6 months before LC diagnosis. Abnormalities in many APR and RBCI tests increase several months before cancer diagnosis, often occur prior to or in the absence of anaemia (in 51% of CRC and 81% of LC patients with abnormalities), and are different in LC and CRC patients. Conclusions: This study demonstrates an increase in diagnostic activity in Australian general practice several months before LC and CRC diagnosis, indicating potential opportunities for earlier diagnosis. It identifies blood test abnormalities and distinct signatures that are early markers of LC and CRC. If combined with other pre-diagnostic information, these blood tests have potential to support GPs in prioritising patients for cancer investigation of different sites to expedite diagnosis.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Trends in primary care blood tests prior to lung and colorectal cancer diagnosis—A retrospective cohort study using linked Australian data |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1002/cam4.70006 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cam4.70006 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2024 The Author(s). Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | blood tests, colorectal cancer, early diagnosis, general practice, lung cancer |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Behavioural Science and Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10199449 |
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