Brian D Nicholson
MRCGP MSc (Health Res) DPhil
Associate Professor
- Affiliate Investigator - KPWHRI
- CRUK Postdoctoral Fellow
- NHS General Practitioner
Contact information
+44 (0)1865 289300
Diagnosis and Cancer in Primary Care
Brian's academic interests include cancer, global health, and evidence-based diagnosis.
His research aims to improve the diagnostic process for patients with symptoms of cancer. This work focusses on understanding symptoms, appropriate test use, and developing clinical pathways. He leads the departmental Cancer Theme that conducts research in four main areas: health records data; implementation science; diagnostic reasoning; and clinical trials and prospective studies. He is Early Detection lead for the CRUK Oxford Cancer Centre investigating community-based multi-cancer early detection testing.
He currently supervises 4 full time DPhil students, 2 part time EBHC students, one postdoc and one ACF. He is a GP in Oxford City.
Research groups
Key publications
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Multi-cancer early detection test in symptomatic patients referred for cancer investigation in England and Wales (SYMPLIFY): a large-scale, observational cohort study
Journal article
Nicholson BD. et al, (2023), The Lancet Oncology, 24, 733 - 743
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Early diagnosis of cancer: systems approach to support clinicians in primary care
Journal article
Black GB. et al, (2023), BMJ
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Faecal immunochemical testing for adults with symptoms of colorectal cancer attending English primary care: a retrospective cohort study of 14 487 consecutive test requests
Journal article
Nicholson BD. et al, (2020), Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 52, 1031 - 1041
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Prioritising primary care patients with unexpected weight loss for cancer investigation: Diagnostic accuracy study
Journal article
Nicholson BD. et al, (2020), The BMJ, 370
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Combining simple blood tests to identify primary care patients with unexpected weight loss for cancer investigation: Clinical risk score development, internal validation, and net benefit analysis
Journal article
Nicholson BD. et al, (2021), PLoS Medicine, 18
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Can safety-netting improve cancer detection in patients with vague symptoms?
Journal article
Nicholson BD. et al, (2016), BMJ (Online), 355
Recent publications
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Journal article
Dierick NR. et al, (2024), BMC Gastroenterology, 24
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Journal article
Maurer J. et al, (2024), European Urology Open Science, 66, 12 - 15