ArticleBritish journal of cancer2025
A UK population-based case-control study of blood tests before cancer diagnosis in patients with non-specific abdominal symptoms.
Article in British journal of cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Cancer risk in patients with recurrent or persistent symptoms: a systematic review.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2026Review
- Impact of Multicancer Screening on Late-Stage Cancer at Diagnosis in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Modeling Study.JCO precision oncology · 2026Article
- Prediagnostic primary care consultations and imaging in emergency-diagnosed versus referred patients with lung cancer: a population-based linked data study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Clinical Significance of a Multicancer Screening Trial With Stage-Based End Points.JAMA network open · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAbnormal results in commonly used primary care blood tests could be early markers of cancer in patients presenting with non-specific abdominal symptoms.
methodsUsing linked data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and national cancer registry we compared blood test use and abnormal results from the 24-months pre-diagnosis in 10,575 cancer patients (any site), and 52,875 matched-controls aged ≥30 presenting, with abdominal pain or bloating to primary care.
resultsCancer patients had two-fold increased odds of having a blood test (odds ratio(OR):1.51-2.29) and 2-3-fold increased odds of having an abnormal blood test result (OR:2.42-3.30) in the year pre-diagnosis compared to controls. Raised inflammatory markers were the most common abnormality (74-79% of tested cases). Rates of blood test use and abnormal results progressively increased from 7 months pre-diagnosis in cancer patients, with relatively small corresponding increases in symptomatic controls. In cancer patients, the largest increases from baseline were raised platelets in males with abdominal pain (increased 33-fold), raised white blood cell count in males with abdominal bloating (increased 37-fold) and low albumin in females with either symptom (increased 22-41 fold).
conclusionsCommon blood test abnormalities are early signals of cancer in some individuals with non-specific abdominal symptoms and could support expedited cancer diagnosis.
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