Status: 15.10.2023, 16:11 PM
By: Juliane Gutmann
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If cancer is detected early, the chances of recovery increase immensely. However, the correct diagnosis is not always made immediately. GPs explain why this can happen.
Doctors have a lot of responsibility. Your choices can be the difference between life and death. This starts with the first patient consultation and ends with the choice of the appropriate therapy option. In the case of cancer, early diagnosis is essential. This is because malignant tumors can often be easily removed in the early stages. If, on the other hand, the disease is already advanced, the risk of metastasis increases. In the process, the cancer cells spread throughout the body, which makes therapy more difficult.
In case of complaints, the first point of contact is usually the family doctor. However, cancer symptoms are often non-specific, so they can also indicate other diseases. It can therefore be the case that family doctors overlook cancer.
When GPs don't recognise tumours
Researchers have dealt with this topic as part of a study. Nearly 160 physicians from more than 20 European countries who had overlooked cancer in their patients were surveyed. Anonymously, the doctors reported on the reasons.
"The study identified six overarching themes that need to be addressed. This should reduce the morbidity and mortality of the small proportion of patients in whom cancer diagnosis is significantly and avoidably delayed," concludes the international team of researchers led by SenadaHajdarevic from the Department of Nursing at Umeå University in Sweden. The researchers summarize the six main causes as follows, as the specialist portal Springer Medizin informs:
- Patients reported symptoms that were not indicative of cancer but of another condition.
- Conditions occurred that distracted from a suspicion of cancer, e.g., normal laboratory findings, an improvement in symptoms, or another disease whose symptoms predominated.
A detailed discussion with the patient is important so that the family doctor can make the correct diagnosis. © Joseffson/Imago
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- Some patients did not take advantage of the doctor's offers and advice, for example by recommending that they undergo an MRI examination.
- The health care system itself: Doctors made misdiagnoses due to stress, overload and/or lack of time, or it was not clear who was responsible for the next steps in treatment.
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- Human error on the part of the doctors: Abnormal test results were not further questioned or they did not examine the patients thoroughly enough.
- The communication between doctor and patient, but also between the specialties, was misleading or incomprehensible. In some cases, a lack of knowledge of the local language was also responsible for late diagnoses.
More information about the study "Exploring why European primary care physicians sometimes do not think of, or act on, a possible cancer diagnosis. A qualitative study"
Date published: September 19, 2023
Published on the British Journal of General Practice
Scope: 158 general practitioners completed the questionnaire
Study authors: International research team led by SenadaHajdarevic from the Department of Nursing at Umeå University in Sweden
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. It is in no way a substitute for a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editorial team is not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.