Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1986 Jan;53(1):53–57. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1986.8

The role of a questionnaire and four biochemical markers to detect cancer risk in a symptomatic population.

E M Chisholm, R J Marshall, D Brown, E H Cooper, G R Giles
PMCID: PMC2001465  PMID: 2868751

Abstract

The roles of a self-completed symptom questionnaire and four biochemical markers of disease were assessed to determine risk for gastric and colorectal cancer from within a hospital population and a random population. Eight-six patients with cancer, 168 subjects with benign conditions of the stomach and large bowel and 720 individuals from the community at large were investigated. Multivariate analyses of the questionnaire and biochemical data were performed individually and in combination using a data set comprising 54 cancer subjects, 80 patients with benign disease and 200 random individuals. The most favourable predictive equation derived was then applied to the remaining data set to determine its efficacy. In the primary analyses the questionnaire data identified 32 (60%) cancers successfully and using the biochemical markers alone 36 (67%) patients were also correctly classified as cancer bearing. However, the combination of the questionnaire and marker data improved the sensitivity for cancer to 50 cancers detected (92%) (P less than 0.02). Using the predictive equation from this combination of data to identify risk in the second data set 28/32 (88%) cancers were correctly identified with only an 11% false positive rate. An 18 month follow-up for the non-cancer group has to date revealed only one cancer (ca. pancreas). In this limited study, multivariate analysis of questionnaire and biochemical marker data does successfully identify individuals at "high risk' of harbouring gastric or colorectal cancer within a symptomatic population and may have a role in determining priority for investigation for a symptomatic individual.

Full text

PDF
53

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Albert A. On the use and computation of likelihood ratios in clinical chemistry. Clin Chem. 1982 May;28(5):1113–1119. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Chisholm E. M., de Dombal F. T., Giles G. R. Validation of a self administered questionnaire to elicit gastrointestinal symptoms. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985 Jun 15;290(6484):1795–1796. doi: 10.1136/bmj.290.6484.1795. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chu C. Y., Lai L. T., Pokala H. P. Value of plasma alpha-1-acid glycoprotein assay in the detection of human colorectal cancer: comparison with carcinoembryonic antigen. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1982 Jan;68(1):75–79. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Haesen J. P., Berends G. T., Zondag H. A. An automated method for the determination of serum -glutamyltranspeptidase. Clin Chim Acta. 1972 Mar;37:463–470. doi: 10.1016/0009-8981(72)90470-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Holliday H. W., Hardcastle J. D. Delay in diagnosis and treatment of symptomatic colorectal cancer. Lancet. 1979 Feb 10;1(8111):309–311. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(79)90718-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Jones I. S. An analysis of bowel habit and its significance in the diagnosis of carcinoma of the colon. Am J Proctol. 1976 Jun;27(3):45–56. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Macadam D. B. A study in general practice of the symptoms and delay patterns in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1979 Dec;29(209):723–729. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Mann J., Holdstock G., Harman M., Machin D., Loehry C. A. Scoring system to improve cost effectiveness of open access endoscopy. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1983 Oct 1;287(6397):937–940. doi: 10.1136/bmj.287.6397.937. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Rashid S. A., O'Quigley J., Axon A. T., Cooper E. H. Plasma protein profiles and prognosis in gastric cancer. Br J Cancer. 1982 Mar;45(3):390–394. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1982.66. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Thompson W. G., Heaton K. W. Functional bowel disorders in apparently healthy people. Gastroenterology. 1980 Aug;79(2):283–288. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Walker C., Gray B. N. Acute-phase reactant proteins and carcinoembryonic antigen in cancer of the colon and rectum. Cancer. 1983 Jul 1;52(1):150–154. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19830701)52:1<150::aid-cncr2820520127>3.0.co;2-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ward A. M., Cooper E. H., Turner R., Anderson J. A., Neville A. M. Acute-phase reactant protein profiles: an aid to monitoring large bowel cancer by CEA and serum enzymes. Br J Cancer. 1977 Feb;35(2):170–178. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1977.24. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES