NHS launches new initiative to identify one of the deadliest forms of cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer is a cancer that's found anywhere in the pancreas – the organ that helps you digest your food and makes hormones, such as insulin.
This cancer is the 5th most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK, with only 7% of people living 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Anyone can get pancreatic cancer. It's not always clear what causes it.
You might be more likely to get it if you:
- are over the age of 65 – it's not very common in people under 40
- have certain medical conditions, such as chronic pancreatitis
- there's a history of pancreatic cancer in your family
Many pancreatic cancers are also linked to your lifestyle. Find out more about the causes and how to lower your risk here.
New NHS initiative
As part of an NHS drive to identify patients at most risk of pancreatic cancer, local GP practices will carry out searches of patient records through a three-year pilot using their GP IT systems to identify patients who have the symptoms.
GP teams will search online patient records to identify people over 60 who have the key early warning signs of pancreatic cancer including being recently diagnosed with diabetes and sudden weight loss.
Around half of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have been diagnosed with diabetes recently.
Even if a patient’s weight is not recorded, GP teams will reach out to patients to check they have not unexpectedly slimmed down and offer them tests if they have new onset diabetes.
Family doctors taking part in the pilot will then contact patients and send them for urgent blood tests and CT scans to rule out cancer.
More than 300 GP practices across England will begin using the initiative; with dozens rolling it out now, and the rest up and running in the autumn.
Benefits of early prevention
Most people with pancreatic cancer only recognise symptoms when their disease is at a late stage, but the NHS wants to reach out to people as early as possible so they can get the best treatment.
GP teams already know the signs to look for, but this new scheme provides almost £2 million in targeted funding to help practices reach out to those most at risk and give patients the best chance of being diagnosed earlier.
The initiative will test whether dedicated routine searches of patient records can lead to earlier diagnosis of the devastating disease, and better outcomes.
The latest NHS statistics show that more than 200,000 people were diagnosed or given the all-clear for cancer in April within 28-days. This is a key target and 11,500 more than the previous year (197,882).
