Howell, Debra A orcid.org/0000-0002-7521-7402, Warburton, Fiona, Ramirez, Amanda-Jane et al. (3 more authors) (2015) Risk factors and time to symptomatic presentation in leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. British journal of cancer. pp. 1114-1120. ISSN 1532-1827
Abstract
BACKGROUND: UK policy aims to improve cancer outcomes by promoting early diagnosis, which for many haematological malignancies is particularly challenging as the pathways leading to diagnosis can be difficult and prolonged. METHODS: A survey about symptoms was sent to patients in England with acute leukaemia, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Symptoms and barriers to first help seeking were examined for each subtype, along with the relative risk of waiting >3 months' time from symptom onset to first presentation to a doctor, controlling for age, sex and deprivation. RESULTS: Of the 785 respondents, 654 (83.3%) reported symptoms; most commonly for NHL (95%) and least commonly for CLL (67.9%). Some symptoms were frequent across diseases while others were more disease-specific. Overall, 16% of patients (n=114) waited >3 months before presentation; most often in CML (24%) and least in acute leukaemia (9%). Significant risk factors for >3 months to presentation were: night sweats (particularly CLL and NHL), thirst, abdominal pain/discomfort, looking pale (particularly acute leukaemias), and extreme fatigue/tiredness (particularly CML and NHL); and not realising symptom(s) were serious. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate important differences by subtype, which should be considered in strategies promoting early presentation. Not realising the seriousness of some symptoms indicates a worrying lack of public awareness.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 1 September 2015; doi:10.1038/bjc.2015.311 www.bjcancer.com.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015 Cancer Research UK. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Health Sciences (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 13 Apr 2017 12:00 |
Last Modified: | 07 Feb 2025 00:11 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2015.311 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/bjc.2015.311 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:115042 |
Download
Filename: Risk_factors_and_time_to_symptomatic.pdf
Description: Risk factors and time to symptomatic
Licence: CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5