The use of CXRs varies significantly between practices and addressing this could help with early detection of lung cancer

In this episode we talk to Dr Stephen Bradley who is a GP and clinical research fellow at the University of Leeds. Paper: Associations between general practice characteristics and chest X-ray rate: an observational study https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2021.0232 (https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2021.0232) Abnormal findings on chest X-rays that have been requested by GPs because of symptoms are an important route to lung cancer diagnosis. Previous research has suggested that increased rates of chest X-ray and urgent referral for suspected cancer may be associated with earlier stage at diagnosis for lung cancer. This study demonstrates that there is substantial variation in rates of investigation between practices, and that only a small proportion of that variation is owing to examined population and practice characteristics. Encouraging practices that have low chest X-ray rates to lower their thresholds for investigation could prove to be an effective strategy to detect lung cancer earlier and improve outcomes. Relevant referencesStudies by CanTest Leeds team on CXR discussed in the podcastSystematic Review on sensitivity CXR: https://bjgp.org/content/69/689/e827 (https://bjgp.org/content/69/689/e827) Observational study on sensitivity of CXR: https://bjgp.org/content/71/712/e862 (https://bjgp.org/content/71/712/e862) Estimating risk of lung cancer following negative CXR: https://bjgp.org/content/71/705/e280 (https://bjgp.org/content/71/705/e280) Observational study on frequency of CXR use and practice/population characteristics: https://bjgp.org/content/72/714/e34 (https://bjgp.org/content/72/714/e34) Remaining uncertainty regarding whether increasing GP CXR rates leads to improved outcomesLung cancer stage shift following a symptom awareness campaign (Kennedy) https://thorax.bmj.com/content/73/12/1128 (https://thorax.bmj.com/content/73/12/1128) What characteristics of primary care and patients are associated with early death in patients with lung cancer in the UK? (O'Dowd )https://thorax.bmj.com/content/70/2/