London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

6 in 10 patients with ‘red flag’ cancer signs in England not being referred to specialists fast enough – study

6 in 10 patients with ‘red flag’ cancer signs in England not being referred to specialists fast enough – study

Doctors in England are failing to refer the majority of patients with ‘red flag’ cancer symptoms like bleeding and lumps to specialists, according to a new study that raises questions about the state of “clinical judgement.”
The findings, published in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety on Monday, showed that 60% of patients in the study who presented symptoms that suggested possible cancer did not receive an urgent referral for specialist assessment from their general physicians (GPs).

Roughly 4% of these patients were diagnosed with cancer within a year. Clinical guidelines introduced in 2000 recommend GPs refer patients with warning signs of cancer to specialists for further tests and scans within a crucial two-week window after the first visit.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Exeter and University College London, looked at the anonymised records of nearly 49,000 patients who consulted their GP with at least one of the six ‘red flag’ symptoms, including blood in urine, breast lumps, swallowing difficulty, iron-deficiency, and post-menopausal or rectal bleeding.

It covered patients who visited their GP between 2014 and 2015 – the most recent cancer registry data available. Out of a total of 48,715 consultations that required an urgent referral for suspected cancer, only 40% (about 19,760 patients) were told to see a specialist within two weeks.

About 10% of those who did receive urgent referrals were diagnosed with cancer within the year. Over that same period, some 3.6% (about 1,047 patients) of the 29,045 individuals who were not referred were hit by a cancer diagnosis.

The study also found that the likelihood of a patient being referred depended on which symptom they exhibited – with the lowest referral rate, about 17%, being for problems swallowing and the highest for breast lumps, at 68%.

Although the researchers noted that GP referral decision-making was “not without value,” they stated that the number of patients who received a cancer diagnosis after non-referral raised questions about “whether clinical judgement is good enough.”

Additionally, the study suggested that “decision-making” that was not in keeping with the established guidelines resulted in a “missed opportunity to diagnose early.”

However, the study’s lead author Dr. Bianca Wiering told the Guardian that the issue “does not just lie with GPs.” She added that it is “currently not always the case” that the services providing the necessary tests upon referral are “well resourced.”

The findings come as the NHS England backlog for routine hospital treatment is said to have reached 5.6 million in July partly due to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Almost half a million patients were reportedly screened for cancer in June and July.

According to recent analysis by the charity Cancer Research UK, over the 12-month pandemic period prior to March 2021, some 304,555 fewer patients were provided an urgent referral by GPs for suspected cancer. The data also showed that about 38,800 fewer patients started cancer treatment – a drop of 12% from previous years.

The referral rate reportedly began to fall after a UK government public health campaign urging people to ‘Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives’ and the implementation of a ‘total triage’ policy that emphasised online or phone meetings with family doctors over in-person examinations.

Releasing the “devastating” figures in May, the charity said the UK was headed towards a “cancer crisis.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×