How this fits in

Multiple myeloma is a haematological cancer in which 50% of patients experience symptoms for at least 3 months before diagnosis and have multiple consultations in primary care before referral to secondary care. Symptoms on their own are not predictive enough to suggest referral and they have to be combined with abnormalities in blood tests. The authors of the present study developed two clinical prediction rules that combine patient characteristics, symptoms, and common blood tests to identify patients at high risk of having undiagnosed myeloma. The study found that the prediction rules were shown to have good discrimination, and have the potential to reduce the delays observed in the diagnosis of myeloma.