More cancers are being diagnosed through emergency routes in the UK than in comparable high-income countries, according to new analysis by the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP), which is hosted by Cancer Research UK.
In the first study of its kind*, researchers at University College London found that, for eight major cancer sites between 2012 and 2017, over a third of patients in England (37%)**, Wales (37.4%) and Scotland (38.5%) were diagnosed after being rushed into hospital. In Northern Ireland, which was measured using a different definition, emergency presentations accounted for over a quarter (27.9%) of diagnoses***.
This is the first time we have seen figures for the UK nations alongside data from comparable countries and the charity is now calling for government to act on this worrying picture. England, Scotland and Wales lagged behind Australia and Canada, and was similar to Norway – with New Zealand having the highest levels of emergency presentations****.
The study, published in The Lancet Oncology, looked at 857,068 cancer cases diagnosed between 2012 and 2017, in six comparable countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway and the UK). Cancer types included were oesophageal, stomach, colon, rectal, liver, pancreatic, lung and ovarian cancers.
The proportion of emergency presentations ranged from 42.5% in New Zealand to 24% in the Australian state of Victoria – indicating a global problem.
Older patients and those with advanced cancer were most likely to be diagnosed through an emergency route – as were cancers with often non-specific, vague symptoms, such as pancreatic, liver, lung, and ovarian.
