Now, a simple way to diagnose deadly cancers

Researchers have developed a simple online calculator that could offer family GPs a powerful new tool to tackle two of the most deadly forms of cancer.

Academics from The University of Nottingham and ClinRisk Ltd have created two new QCancer algorithms, which cross-reference symptoms and risk factors of patients to red flag those most likely to have pancreatic and bowel cancer.

This could help doctors to diagnose these illnesses more quickly and potentially save thousands of lives every year.

"We hope these new tools will help GPs with the difficult task of identifying patients with suspected cancer earlier and that this in turn could help improve treatment options and outcomes for patients," said lead researcher, Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox in the University’s Division of Primary Care.