ArticleClinical medicine (London, England)2021
Isolated headache is not a reliable indicator for brain cancer: the 2-week wait pathway for suspected CNS malignancies.
Article in Clinical medicine (London, England), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Can cognitive function tests discriminate between patients with glioma and healthy controls prior to treatment? A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Detection of Brain Cancer Using Genome-wide Cell-free DNA Fragmentomes.Cancer discovery · 2025Article
- Novel screening tool for secondary headache in acute care-A pilot study.Clinical medicine (London, England) · 2024Article
- Isolated headache is not a reliable indicator for brain cancer.Clinical medicine (London, England) · 2022Article
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5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe UK uses the 2-week-wait (2WW) pathway for rapid access to cancer services. It is unclear whether this is effective for brain cancer.
methodsWe retrospectively analysed all 2WW referrals for brain cancer between 2009 and 2016 in a district general neurology department. We compared clinical presentations to national guidelines and diagnoses of brain cancer.
resultsOf the 153 cases analysed, four brain cancers were identified: two glioblastomas and two metastases. Headaches were the most common referral. The end diagnosis was mostly migraine. The highest positive predictive value was for behavioural/personality change (5.3%) and sub-acute neurological deficit (3.2%). There was no significant association between any symptom(s) and brain cancer.
conclusionThe 2WW pathway is not effective in the diagnosis of brain cancer. Resources are better directed towards clinical research and treatment trials. Headache remains the most common reason for referral although it is not yet a reliable indicator of brain cancer.
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