TY - JOUR T1 - Diagnosing adult primary brain tumours: can we do better? JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 278 LP - 279 DO - 10.3399/bjgp17X691277 VL - 67 IS - 659 AU - Clarissa Penfold AU - Alexis J Joannides AU - Joyce Bell AU - Fiona M Walter Y1 - 2017/06/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/67/659/278.abstract N2 - In late 2015 to early 2016, a public e-petition prompted a House of Commons Select Committee inquiry and subsequent parliamentary debate into brain tumour research, highlighting the devastating impact that brain tumours have on patients and their families. Two key areas of concern were the potential impact of diagnostic delays on survival and quality of life for patients and their families, and the low priority given to brain tumour research by government and funders.1The prognosis for primary brain tumours remains poor: only 40% of people diagnosed with malignant brain tumours live for more than a year, and less than 20% for more than 5 years.2 Although patients with brain/central nervous system (CNS) tumours lose more than 20 years of life on average, the highest among commoner cancer types,2 improving early diagnosis of brain tumours has long been perceived as unfeasible due to poor symptom specificity. However, during the last decade the median total diagnostic interval for paediatric brain tumours has halved (101 days in 2006 to 47 days in 2013), probably due to a range of factors including the publication of the National Institute for Health and Care Institute (NICE) guideline on referral for suspected cancer in June 2005,3 the 2-week urgent referral pathway, and the UK-wide HeadSmart public and professional awareness campaign, focusing on the symptoms and signs of brain tumours in children and young people.4,5 Learning from this success, can we now improve time to diagnosis for adult primary brain tumours?Multiple primary care consultationsThese … ER -