Media Release

11 September 2009

New cancer guidelines help with early detection

GPs now have new national guidelines to help them spot the early signs of cancer.

The Ministry of Health has today launched Suspected Cancer in Primary Care, produced in association with the New Zealand Guidelines Group.

The guideline aims to alert primary care practitioners to features that should raise their suspicion of cancer, so they can refer patients early for further investigation. It also reviews issues around disparities and access to care, and their impact on cancer diagnosis and outcomes.

The guideline was commissioned by the Ministry as part of its commitment to the implementation of the Cancer Control Strategy. It follows the publication of evidence-based guidelines for the management of melanoma and of early breast cancer. Implementation plans for all three guidelines will be completed early next year.

The Ministry’s National Clinical Director, Cancer Programme, Dr John Childs, says evidence-based guidelines help focus thinking around the earlier diagnosis of cancer.

“This guideline can help doctors recognise the signs and symptoms that suggest cancer so they can refer their patients on promptly for further investigation,” he says.

A paper published recently in the Australian Medical Journal suggested the average GP would encounter about four new patients each year diagnosed with a potentially fatal cancer.

“This guideline can help reduce late or missed cancer diagnosis, reduce variation in clinical care and most importantly improve outcomes for patients,” he says.

The guideline covers the period from the time a person first contacts their GP with a worrying symptom, to their first appointment with a specialist.

Recommendations in the guidelines were developed by a group of clinical and consumer experts and have been endorsed by the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, the Cancer Society, the New Zealand Association of Cancer Specialists and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

The guideline is available on the Cancer Control in NZ Publications page (www.moh.govt.nz/cancercontrol) or the New Zealand Guidelines Group website (www.nzgg.org.nz).


ENDS

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