Medscape August 5, 2024
TOPLINE:
A new study of nearly 478,000 UK primary care patients presenting with new abdominal pain or bloating suggests that a cancer referral is warranted if patients are aged ≥ 60 years. Referral of patients aged 30-59 years is warranted depending on gender and abnormal results on 19 common blood tests. Low albumin, high platelets, high prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and high cancer antigen 125 (CA125) are most strongly predictive of being diagnosed with cancer within 1 year.
METHODOLOGY:
- This retrospective cohort study, using data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink, sought to evaluate the predictive value of commonly used blood tests for detecting cancer in primary care patients aged ≥ 30 years with non-specific abdominal symptoms.
- The presenting...