Oops, you're using an old version of your browser so some of the features on this page may not be displaying properly.

MINIMAL Requirements: Google Chrome 24+Mozilla Firefox 20+Internet Explorer 11Opera 15–18Apple Safari 7SeaMonkey 2.15-2.23

Poster session 10

1593P - Factors associated with multiple general practitioner consultations before cancer diagnosis in adolescents and young adults: A cohort study in Australia

Date

14 Sep 2024

Session

Poster session 10

Topics

Cancer in Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA)

Tumour Site

Presenters

Jeremy Lewin

Citation

Annals of Oncology (2024) 35 (suppl_2): S937-S961. 10.1016/annonc/annonc1606

Authors

J. Lewin1, K. Thompson1, J. Emery2, M. Rafiq3

Author affiliations

  • 1 Department Of Cancer Medicine, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 3000 - Melbourne/AU
  • 2 Department Of Cancer Medicine, University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research (UMCCR) - Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 3000 - Parkville/AU
  • 3 Data Connect - Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research (UMCCR) - Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 3000 - Parkville/AU

Resources

Login to get immediate access to this content.

If you do not have an ESMO account, please create one for free.

Abstract 1593P

Background

Adolescent and young adults (AYA) with underlying cancer often experience multiple General Practitioner (GP) consultations before they are referred to a specialist. Certain patient groups may be at higher risk of such events, but evidence is lacking, particularly from Australia. We aimed to examine GP activity prior to cancer diagnosis in an Australian cohort of AYAs and factors associated with multiple GP consultations.

Methods

We conducted an Australian cohort study of patients aged 18–39 years with incident cancer recorded in the Victorian Cancer Registry between 2008-2022 and linkage to the Patron primary care dataset. We calculated the frequency of GP events in the year before cancer diagnosis (GP consultations, prescriptions, blood test and imaging) and the proportion of patients with multiple GP consultations (≥4) in this period. Using multivariable logistic regression models, we examined associations between multiple pre-diagnostic GP consultations and patient characteristics, including age, sex, socioeconomic status, regional or city location, culturally and linguistically diverse background and main spoken language.

Results

1,712 AYAs with cancer were identified: 276 aged 18–25 and 1,436 aged 26–39. AYAs had a mean of 3 GP consults in the six months pre-diagnosis (range 0-46), with 1,035 (60%) AYAs having a GP consultation in this period and 434 AYAs (25%) consulting a GP 4 or more times. AYAs living in regional Australia were more likely to have 4 or more consultations (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.67, 95%CI 1.32-2.10, p<0.001) as were those diagnosed in more recent years, particularly between 2020-2022 (AOR 1.54, 95%CI 1.14-2.07, p=0.005). In AYAs aged 18-25 years, the most deprived patients were more likely to have multiple GP consults (AOR 3.46, 95%CI 1.55-7.72, p=0.002), with no evidence of an association was observed in AYAs aged 26-40.

Conclusions

Our findings identify AYA patient groups at higher risk of multiple GP consultations before cancer diagnosis and at risk of having a prolonged diagnostic journey. These findings could help to inform policy and prioritise early diagnosis interventions focusing on these patient groups.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

University of Melbourne Human Ethics team in the Office of Research Ethics and Integrity.

Funding

Victorian Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Service, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential, while others help us improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used.

For more detailed information on the cookies we use, please check our Privacy Policy.

Customise settings
  • Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and you can only disable them by changing your browser preferences.