Straight-to-test for the two-week-wait colorectal cancer pathway under the updated NICE guidelines reduces time to cancer diagnosis and treatment.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The 2015 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines widened the referral criteria for the two-week-wait pathway for suspected lower gastrointestinal cancer. We implemented a straight-to-test protocol to accommodate the anticipated increase in referrals. We evaluated the impact of these changes for relevant pathway metrics and clinical outcomes using a retrospective cohort study with historic controls.

Materials and methods

We analysed data from all patients referred to a teaching hospital via the two-week-wait pathway for suspected lower gastrointestinal cancer under the previous guidelines between 1 March and 31 August 2015 compared with the same period in 2016, when the updated guidelines and straight-to-test protocol had been implemented.

SUBMITTER: Christopher J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6513371 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature