How quickly are people with symptomatic lung cancer getting a pre-diagnostic chest X-ray?

In this episode we talk to Dr Garth Funston, a Clinical Research Fellow, from the Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge. The paper is: Time from presentation to pre-diagnostic chest X-ray in patients with symptomatic lung cancer: a cohort study using electronic patient records from English primary care. Read the paper: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp20X714077 (https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp20X714077) England’s national cancer referral guidelines recommend that patients attending general practice with unexplained symptoms possibly caused by lung cancer, such as persistent cough, shortness of breath, and weight loss, have a chest X-ray promptly (within 14 days) to aid timely diagnosis. Only 35% of patients with lung cancer in this study had a chest X-ray within the recommended 14 days; and time between attending general practice with symptoms and having an X-ray was longer among people who smoke, females, and older patients. This research highlights a potential source of delayed lung cancer diagnosis and could inform initiatives aiming to achieve earlier diagnosis and improve outcomes.