The Suspected CANcer (SCAN) pathway

Often the cause of these symptoms remains unclear after GP assessment. There is commonly a minor cause for such symptoms. However, there is a small chance that they could be the signs of a serious illness, such as cancer. Therefore, these symptoms are often called 'low-risk but not no-risk' symptoms.

At present, GPs do not have a way to get rapid investigations for patients with 'non-specific' symptoms. Patients can go back and forth between their GP and the hospital many times until a diagnosis is made; this takes time with diagnoses and treatment potentially delayed. Although the risk of serious disease is low, a delay in diagnosis and treatment may have a negative effect on the patients' health and overall wellbeing.

The Oxford Radiology Research Unit (ORRU) and the Radiology department at the Churchill Hospital are running the Suspected CANcer (SCAN) pathway which involves:

• rapid access to Computed Tomography (CT) scanning
• laboratory tests (blood and faeces tests)
• any further tests if needed.

Dependent on these results, an appointment with a Doctor working in a Multi Diagnostic Clinic (MDC) is arranged. The aim is to reach a diagnosis and begin treatment as quickly as possible.

We are now conducting the second phase of a programme called ACE (Accelerate, Co-ordinate, Evaluate). We have been working closely with primary and secondary care clinicians who are keen to improve cancer care, to design a new diagnostic pathway for patients in Oxfordshire with these 'non-specific' symptoms.

Our team

ORRU / Radiology Department

• Gabriele AbuEid
  Research Nurse
• Hannah Pointing
  Senior Radiographer/SCAN Navigator
• Julie-Ann Moreland
  Senior Radiographer/SCAN Navigator
• Dr Rachel Benamore
  Consultant Radiologist/Clinical Director of Radiology
• Professor Niall Moore
  Consultant Radiologist
• Professor Fergus Gleeson
  Consultant Radiologist

OCCG

• Zoe Kaveney
  Project Manager
• Dr Shelley Hayles
  Cancer Lead for the OCCG

Nuffield Department of Primary Care

• Dr Jason Oke
  Health Economist
• Dr Claire Friedemann-Smith
• Dr Brian Nicholson
  Macmillan Cancer Care GP and clinical researcher

MDC clinicians

• Dr Daniel Mitchener
  Consultant of General Medicine
• Dr Alexandra Montagu
  Consultant Gerontologist
• Dr Sarah Smith
  Consultant Gerontologist
• Dr Maggie Hammersley
  Consultant of General Medicine
• Professor Daniel Lasserson
  Consultant of Acute Medicine and Ambulatory Care
  

Video

"One of the reasons we are running this project is because we diagnose late in this country, the later we diagnose, the harder cancer is to treat. If we can diagnose earlier we can potentially save a lot of lives and enhance the quality of lives."