Scientists recommend cancer checks for over-60s with stomach pains

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Doctors urged to check all over-60s with stomach pains for cancer

Study finds just one symptom puts older patients above NHS risk threshold

Routine blood tests may be missing vital tumour clues, delaying diagnosis

Scientists from University College London are advising doctors to conduct cancer checks on all over-60s who present with stomach pain or bloating. A recent study revealed that even just one of these symptoms elevates older patients' risk for cancer above the NHS threshold for testing. Currently, patients are typically only referred for further evaluation if they exhibit additional warning signs alongside gastrointestinal issues, but researchers argue that this approach may be missing crucial red flags.

The study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, analyzed data from over 400,000 GP patients aged 30 and above in the UK who sought medical help for stomach pain or bloating between 2007 and 2016. Results showed that individuals with abnormalities in common blood tests had a 16% higher chance of receiving a cancer diagnosis in the future. However, many of these patients were not thoroughly screened for tumours, indicating a potential gap in early detection.

Lead author of the study, Dr. Meena Rafiq, emphasized the importance of improving cancer detection using existing blood tests, stating that half of individuals with undetected cancer initially present with vague symptoms that can be challenging to diagnose. Dr. Rafiq suggested the development of automated tools to assess cancer risk based on blood test data, potentially aiding GPs in prioritizing referrals for further evaluation.