Presenting features of Multidisciplinary Diagnostic Centre patients by cancer type
| Less common cancers (all) | Common cancers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | |
| Patient age range, years | ||||
| <50 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| 50–75 | 114 | 52 | 78 | 50 |
| >75 | 97 | 44 | 72 | 46 |
| All cases | 218 | — | 155 | — |
| Presenting feature | ||||
| Weight loss | 132 | 26 | 99 | 27 |
| GP ‘clinical suspicion’ | 90 | 17 | 74 | 20 |
| Nausea/appetite loss | 71 | 14 | 52 | 14 |
| Pain | 58 | 11 | 40 | 11 |
| Fatigue | 47 | 9 | 39 | 10 |
| Abnormal test results (for example, bloods or urine) | 30 | 6 | 26 | 7 |
| Anaemia | 29 | 6 | 14 | 4 |
| ‘Other’ symptoms (with <5% instances)a | 59 | 11 | 29 | 8 |
| Total symptoms recorded | 516 | 100 | 373 | 100 |
| Presentation with ≥2 symptoms (including GP ‘clinical suspicion’), n/N (%) | 148/218 (68) | 109/155 (70) | ||
| Patients with ≥3 GP consultations before referral based on available records, n/N (%) | 27/116 (23) | 25/90 (28) | ||
↵a Other symptoms include: patient/family concern; general condition; respiratory problem; jaundice; bloating; change in bowel habit; lymphadenopathy; thrombocytosis; hypercalcaemia; and deep vein thrombosis. Despite being considered a site-specific symptom, jaundice was included as a referral criterion in London MDC to reflect locally determined clinical priorities. MDC = Multidisciplinary Diagnostic Centre.