The NHS is launching a £2 million pilot programme where more than 300 GP practices across England will systematically search patient records to identify people over 60 who may be at risk of pancreatic cancer.
The initiative will target patients with key warning signs, particularly those recently diagnosed with diabetes combined with unexplained weight loss.
GP teams will proactively contact identified patients to offer urgent blood tests and CT scans.
The three-year pilot aims to detect pancreatic cancer earlier, when treatment is most effective.
The initiative will target patients with key warning signs
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Currently, most patients only recognise symptoms when the disease has reached an advanced stage, contributing to its position as the fifth most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK.
GP practices will use their IT systems to conduct routine searches of patient records, looking specifically for patients over 60 with new-onset diabetes who have experienced recent weight loss.
Even when weight data isn't recorded in patient files, practice teams will reach out directly to check whether patients have unexpectedly lost weight.
The searches will identify those showing these combined symptoms, as approximately half of all pancreatic cancer patients have been diagnosed with diabetes recently.
Once identified, family doctors will contact these at-risk patients to arrange urgent referrals for blood tests and CT scans to rule out cancer.
Dozens of practices are implementing the system now, with the remainder expected to be operational by autumn.
The survival statistics for pancreatic cancer remain stark, with only seven per cent of patients living five years or more after diagnosis. More than half die within three months of being diagnosed.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS National Clinical Director for Cancer, said: "Pancreatic cancer is responsible for so many deaths because patients don't usually notice symptoms until the cancer is at an advanced stage, which is why we need to find new ways to pick it up."
He added: "Through initiatives like this and the upcoming 10 Year Health Plan the NHS is determined to go a step further not just treat people at an advanced stage but to go out into communities and seek people out who might be unwell without any symptoms so we can provide people with the most effective treatment."
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Many patients don't recognise warning signs in the early stages
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The initiative has received £2 million in targeted funding to help practices conduct these proactive searches and reach out to at-risk patients.
Health Minister Karin Smyth said: "As someone who has faced cancer personally, I know all too well the fear that comes with a diagnosis and the precious value of catching it early.
"This targeted approach to identify people at risk of one of the most lethal cancers could give more people a fighting chance and spare the heartbreak of countless families."
Alfie Bailey-Bearfield from Pancreatic Cancer UK said the charity was "delighted" to see significant investment towards early diagnosis, noting that catching the disease when it's most treatable "would make the single biggest difference to improving survival."
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