Title
Non-cancer diagnoses and their potential for missed opportunities in symptomatic cancer diagnosis: a mixed methods study
Chief Investigator(s)
Dr Sarah Price
Summary
Our research will help us to understand when interim diagnoses represent missed opportunities to diagnose cancer. In a series of studies, we will gain an in-depth understanding of interim diagnoses as possible missed opportunities from the perspectives of patients and healthcare providers. We will also study the medical records of thousands of people whose personal details have been removed. We will look for patterns of interim diagnoses before a cancer diagnosis, and the consequences for patients. For example, are people more likely to be diagnosed after an emergency and less likely after being referred for urgent testing? Is their cancer more likely to have spread? Does it alter someone’s chances of living for at least one year after diagnosis? We will also explore the financial impacts of interim diagnoses for the NHS.
As part of this project (and the focus of this application), we will analyse existing interviews with patients to understand their experiences of interim diagnosis before referral to a cancer pathway. This will help us find out:
How do interim diagnoses happen, and how do they change over time?
What are the impacts of interim diagnoses on the chances that patients go back to their doctor and on their ongoing care?
What could be done to reduce potential delays?
Data Resources
Secondary Use of Data
PrimDISC Reference Number
PD-0029-2023
Date of PrimDISC Approval
26th January 2024