Cancer Keys
HPV: What are the common myths?
20th January 2022 Lots of women have never heard of human papillomavirus (HPV), for many the first time they hear about HPV is upon their diagnosis after receiving smear test results. A HPV diagnosis can often carry psychological symptoms such as fear, guilt, shame,...
Which cancer patients are eligible for COVID treatment?
19th January 2022 The Interim Clinical Commissioning Policy describes which patients are eligible for COVID treatments. In short and not exclusively, this includes people who have: An active solid or blood cancer Received radiotherapy in last 6 months Received any...
How many COVID vaccines do people with cancer need?
9th December 2021 People who might have been immunosuppressed at the time of their first two vaccine doses are eligible to receive a third primary dose. This includes: People diagnosed with blood cancers People who have received stem cell transplants People who had...
New-onset diabetes and pancreatic cancer
18th November 2021 Potential pitfall: Diabetes, especially Type 2, is common among the general population. However, unexplained new-onset diabetes should be investigated as a possible indicator of pancreatic cancer. It is also important to ask patients about other...
Tips to elicit your patient’s family history of BRCA1 and BRCA2
20th October 2021 Taking a good family history allows geneticists to triage referrals appropriately. BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are characterised by an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers; furthermore, the genes also carry an increased risk of prostate...
Myeloma and C.R.A.B
30th September 2021 C.R.A.B is the acronym designed to simplify the most typical clinical manifestations of multiple myeloma. Clinicians should consider the following indicators in a potential myelomadiagnosis: C: Calcium – hypercalcaemia Symptoms include: excessive...
How can the EDS help you identify patients at high risk of oesophageal cancer?
1st September 2021 The Edinburgh Dysphagia Score (EDS) can support the assessment of patients with dysphagia by identifying patients at lowest risk of a malignant diagnosis, thereby allowing resources to be concentrated on those at highest risk. In the original study,...
25% of lung cancers report as a false negative chest X-ray
12th August 2021 Approximately 25% of lung cancer cases can be missed due to false-negative chest X-ray results. This often leads to a delay in diagnosis and can result in a worse prognosis for the patient. If there are still suspicions of lung cancer following a...
How reliable is the CA125?
23rd July 2021 While the CA125 blood test is useful for diagnosing and monitoring people with ovarian cancer, 25% of patients with ovarian cancers will have a normal CA125 level. Therefore, the CA125 test alone is not an accurate diagnostic tool and primary care...