| Download the amazing global Makindo app: Android | Apple | |
|---|---|
| MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: Educational use only. Not for diagnosis or management. See below for full disclaimer. |
Cancer Frequency and Red flags
📊 Most Common Cancers in the UK (by incidence)
- 🎗️ Breast
- 🫁 Lung
- 🧻 Colorectal
- ♂️ Prostate
- 🫧 Bladder
- 🧬 Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- ☀️ Melanoma
- 🥘 Stomach
- 🍽️ Oesophagus
- 🟣 Pancreas
💀 Most Common Causes of Cancer Death (UK)
- 🫁 Lung
- 🧻 Colorectal
- 🎗️ Breast
- ♂️ Prostate
- 🍽️ Oesophagus
- 🥘 Stomach
- 🫧 Bladder
- 🧬 Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- 👩 Ovarian
- 🩸 Leukaemia
🚩 Red Flag Symptoms – Always Ask
- Change in bowel habit: ➝ Colorectal cancer → Colonoscopy
- Dysphagia: ➝ Oesophageal cancer → OGD (endoscopy)
- Persistent cough / dyspnoea: ➝ Lung cancer → CXR ± nasoendoscopy
- Haemoptysis: ➝ Lung or laryngeal cancer → CXR ± nasoendoscopy
- Unexplained fatigue / anaemia: ➝ General screen (FBC, ferritin, LFTs, CXR)
- Persistent dyspepsia >55 yrs: ➝ Gastric/oesophageal cancer → OGD
- Post-menopausal bleeding: ➝ Endometrial/cervical cancer → Pelvic USS ± colposcopy
- Rectal bleeding: ➝ Colorectal/anal cancer → PR exam + Colonoscopy
- Unexplained weight loss: ➝ Broad screen (bloods, CXR, abdo imaging)
📑 Referral Pathways (UK)
- Most suspected cancers → 2-week wait (2WW) pathway (per NICE guidelines).
- Criteria depend on age + red flag symptoms.
- First-line tests (FIT test, CXR, USS, OGD) often arranged before or alongside urgent referral, depending on local pathways.
Clinical Pearl: The commonest cancers ≠ deadliest cancers. 👉 Lung cancer causes the most deaths, even though breast cancer is more common. Always take 🚩 red flags seriously, especially in older patients or those with risk factors, and trigger a 2WW referral without delay.
| The content on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only to support exam preparation (e.g., MLA, MRCP, USMLE) and learning. This is NOT medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or professional guidance. It does not replace consultation with a qualified healthcare professional, official guidelines (e.g., NICE, GMC, BNF), or supervised clinical practice. Always verify information with current, authoritative sources. Makindo and its contributors accept no liability for any reliance on this content, including errors, omissions, or any resulting harm, loss, or consequences. By using this site, you agree to these terms. |
|
|
Categories
- A Level
- About
- Acute Medicine
- Anaesthetics and Critical Care
- Anatomy
- Biochemistry
- Book
- Cardiology
- Collections
- CompSci
- Crib Sheets
- Dental
- Dermatology
- Differentials
- Drugs
- ENT
- Education
- Electrocardiogram
- Embryology
- Emergency Medicine
- Endocrinology
- Ethics
- Foundation Doctors
- GCSE
- Gastroenterology
- General Practice
- Genetics
- Geriatric Medicine
- Guidelines
- Gynaecology
- Haematology
- Hepatology
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
- Infographic
- Investigations
- Lists
- Mandatory Training
- Medical Students
- Microbiology
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Neurosurgery
- Nutrition
- OSCE
- Obstetrics
- Obstetrics Gynaecology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Oral Medicine and Dentistry
- Orthopaedics
- Paediatrics
- Palliative
- Pathology
- Pharmacology
- Physiology
- Procedures
- Psychiatry
- Public Health
- Radiology
- Renal
- Respiratory
- Resuscitation
- Revision
- Rheumatology
- Statistics and Research
- Stroke
- Surgery
- Toxicology
- Trauma and Orthopaedics
- USMLE
- Urology
- Vascular Surgery