A study of lung cancer cases in Britain has suggested doctors are “missing opportunities” in identifying lung cancer early, meaning one in three sufferers of the disease dies within 90 days of being diagnosed.
The study, carried out by scientists at the University of Nottingham and published in the British Medical Journal Thorax , analysed cases of lung cancer in 20,142 people over 30-years-old. They found that, in one in 10 cases, patients died within a month of being diagnosed and one in 20 people were only diagnosed after they had passed away.
The study also found that, on average, those who died within three months had been to see their GP five times before finally receiving a diagnosis. Researchers said that GPs needed improved diagnostic tools, such as better software, to ensure cases are caught early.
Latest figures from Cancer Research UK show more than 35,000 people die of lung cancer in Britain each year, and just 9 per cent live for more than five years with the disease.
Respiratory physician Dr Emma O’Dowd, who led the research, said: “We’re losing a lot of patients early on. I wanted to find out more about these patients who died early and if there are features that can help us to diagnose them earlier.
“I started off with the preconception that people who died early didn’t ever see their GP. Actually, they saw their GPs more before diagnosis compared to those patients who lived longer.
“That was a surprising finding but obviously with this piece of work we can see specifically what symptoms they have come in with.”
The study discovered that the odds of people dying early from the disease were lower amongst those patients who had had a chest X-ray. However, due to the fact that many smokers develop lung cancer, symptoms were sometimes mistaken for a smoker’s cough, meaning the GP did not take any further action.
Dr O’Dowd added: “Lung cancer can be difficult for doctors to distinguish from other lung diseases so we need to give them some tools that will help identify a patient as high risk.
“If we can diagnose patients at an earlier stage hopefully they can get curable treatment rather than palliative treatment which is what most patients are getting at the moment.
“It’s not that we’re trying to blame the GPs but if we have tools to identify these high risk people earlier than we should put them to use.”
In a linked editorial, Dr Michael Peake, a consultant at Leicester’s Glenfield Hospital, said the research showed there had been “missed opportunities for earlier referral”.
“The number of excess deaths linked to deprivation is large and the gap between the least and most deprived has not lessened over time,” said Dr Peake.
“Improved targeting of public awareness campaigns to specific social groups is important so as not to widen this gap further.”
John Field, who works at the University of Liverpool, said the study was “one of the most in-depth primary care studies undertaken to date” on lung cancer.
“The paper supports the argument that we do need to do a great deal more for potential lung cancer patients than what is provided at present,” he said.
Chris Woods, Medical Negligence Solicitor at Russell Worth solicitors, said “This is important research which shows that much more needs to be done to raise awareness of the symptoms of lung cancer and the need for early diagnosis.
“To do this, GPs need to be equipped with resources that will allow them to detect where lung cancer is present and take the necessary action. The findings of this study show that, despite visiting their GP, sufferers aren’t being diagnosed early enough so it is imperative that more is done to ensure that this is rectified and sufferers receive the support they need.”