The nature and frequency of abdominal symptoms in cancer patients and their associations with time to help-seeking

Raising awareness of possible cancer symptoms is important for timely help-seeking and recent campaigns in England have focused on symptom groups (such as abdominal symptoms) rather than individual alarm symptoms. Using evidence from a national audit of cancer diagnosis, this study examined the frequency of abdominal symptoms at presentation; described the range of cancers associated with abdominal symptoms; and examined variation in the length of the patient interval by presenting abdominal symptom. Almost a quarter (23%) of cancer patients presented with abdominal symptoms before being diagnosed with one of 27 common and rarer cancers. The patient interval varied substantially by abdominal symptom. The results show that although abdominal symptoms are common at presentation among cancer patients, time to presentation varies by symptom. This study suggests that campaigns that target symptoms with longer intervals to help-seeking may lead to earlier diagnosis. Read the full article