Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37101110›Full record

ArticleBMC primary care2023

Symptoms and signs of urogenital cancer in primary care.

Knut Holtedahl, Lars Borgquist, Gé A Donker, Frank Buntinx, David Weller, Christine Campbell, Jörgen Månsson, Victoria Hammersley, Tonje Braaten, Ranjan Parajuli

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC primary care, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.2field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 7 institutions in 5 countries.

Knut HoltedahlDepartment of Community Medicine, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037, Tromsø, Norway.
Lars BorgquistDepartment of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, 58183, Linköping, Sweden.
Gé A DonkerPrimary Care Database, Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, Otterstraat 118, Utrecht, 3513, The Netherlands.
Frank BuntinxDepartment of General Practice, KU Leuven, Oude Markt 13, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
David WellerUsher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Medical Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK.
Christine CampbellUsher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Medical Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK.
Jörgen MånssonDepartment of Public Health and Community Medicine/Primary Health Care, University of Gothenburg, Box 100, 40530, Gothenburgh, Sweden.
Victoria HammersleyUsher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Medical Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK.
Tonje BraatenDepartment of Community Medicine, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037, Tromsø, Norway. tonje.braaten@uit.no.
Ranjan ParajuliIndependent researcher, Tromsø, Norway.
University of Edinburgh · GBUiT The Arctic University of Norway · NOLinköping University · SEMaastricht University · NLNetherlands Institute for Health Services Research · NLTromsø research foundation · NOUniversity of Gothenburg · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundUrogenital cancers are common, accounting for approximately 20% of cancer incidence globally. Cancers belonging to the same organ system often present with similar symptoms, making initial management challenging. In this study, 511 cases of cancer were recorded after the date of consultation among 61,802 randomly selected patients presenting in primary care in six European countries: a subgroup analysis of urogenital cancers was carried out in order to study variation in symptom presentation.

methodsInitial data capture was by completion of standardised forms containing closed questions about symptoms recorded during the consultation. The general practitioner (GP) provided follow-up data after diagnosis, based on medical record data made after the consultation. GPs also provided free text comments about the diagnostic procedure for individual patients.

resultsThe most common symptoms were mainly associated with one or two specific types of cancer: 'Macroscopic haematuria' with bladder or renal cancer (combined sensitivity 28.3%), 'Increased urinary frequency' with bladder (sensitivity 13.3%) or prostatic (sensitivity 32.1%) cancer, or to uterine body (sensitivity 14.3%) cancer, 'Unexpected genital bleeding' with uterine cancer (cervix, sensitivity 20.0%, uterine body, sensitivity 71.4%). 'Distended abdomen, bloating' had sensitivity 62.5% (based on eight cases of ovarian cancer). In ovarian cancer, increased abdominal circumference and a palpable tumour also were important diagnostic elements. Specificity for 'Macroscopic haematuria' was 99.8% (99.7-99.8). PPV > 3% was noted for 'Macroscopic haematuria' and bladder or renal cancer combined, for bladder cancer in male patients. In males aged 55-74, PPV = 7.1% for 'Macroscopic haematuria' and bladder cancer. Abdominal pain was an infrequent symptom in urogenital cancers.

conclusionsMost types of urogenital cancer present with rather specific symptoms. If the GP considers ovarian cancer, increased abdominal circumference should be actively determined. Several cases were clarified through the GP's clinical examination, or laboratory investigations.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Renal CellKidney NeoplasmsOvarian NeoplasmsUrinary Bladder NeoplasmsFemaleHematuriaHumansMalePrimary Health CareBladder cancerCervical cancerGeneral practiceNeoplasmsOvarian cancerPrimary health careProstate cancerRenal cancerUrogenital cancerUterine body cancer

Identifiers

PMID37101110
PMCPMC10131418
OpenAlexW4367052040

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.