Nonspecific Signs and/or Symptoms of Cancer: A Retrospective, Observational Analysis from a Secondary Care, US Community Oncology Dataset

TL;DR

This study examines cancer incidence in patients with nonspecific symptoms in a US community oncology setting, highlighting the need for better diagnostic tools.

Contribution

The study provides real-world data on cancer diagnosis rates and timelines in patients with nonspecific symptoms.

Findings

6.3% of patients with nonspecific symptoms were diagnosed with cancer within 12 months.

The median time to cancer diagnosis was 5.13 weeks after the first visit.

Hematologic malignancies were more common than solid tumors among diagnosed patients.

Abstract

To help determine the unmet need for improved diagnostic tools to evaluate patients with nonspecific signs and/or symptoms (NSSS) and suspicion of cancer, we examined patient characteristics, diagnostic journey, and cancer incidence of patients with NSSS within The US Oncology Network (The Network), a secondary care community oncology setting. This retrospective, observational cohort study included patients aged ≥40 years with ≥1 NSSS in their problem list at their first visit within The Network (the index date) between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2020. Patients were followed longitudinally with electronic health record data for initial cancer diagnosis, new noncancer diagnosis, death, end of study observation period, or 12 months, whichever occurred first. Of 103,984 patients eligible for inclusion, 96,722 presented with only 1 NSSS at index date; 6537/103,984 (6.3%) were diagnosed with 1 primary cancer within 12 months after the index date; 3825/6537 (58.5%) with hematologic malignancy, and 2712/6537 (41.5%) with solid tumor. Among patients diagnosed with cancer (n = 6774), the median time to cancer diagnosis after their first visit within The Network was 5.13 weeks. This study provides a real-world perspective on cancer incidence in patients with NSSS referred to a secondary care setting and highlights the unmet need for improved diagnostic tools to improve cancer outcomes.

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