Brian D Nicholson
MRCGP MSc (Health Res) DPhil
Associate Professor
- Affiliate Investigator - KPWHRI
- NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer
- Postdoctoral Fellow - CRUK PPRC
- Associate Editor - Family Practice
- NIHR CRN Regional SPED Lead
- 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.
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 (Clinical research ed.), 380
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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
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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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Future cancer risk after urgent suspected cancer referral in England when cancer is not found: a national cohort study
Journal article
Scott SE. et al, (2023), The Lancet Oncology, 24, 1242 - 1251
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Ethnic differences in the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical monitoring and hospitalisations for non-COVID conditions in England: a population-based, observational cohort study using the OpenSAFELY platform
Journal article
Costello RE. et al, (2023), eClinicalMedicine, 61