Table 1.
Number of patients with abdominal symptoms recorded during consultation, and between consultation and diagnosis of colon and rectal cancer
| All cancer (N = 511) | Colorectal cancer (N = 94) | Colon (N = 65) | Proximal part of colon (N = 18) | Distal part of colon (N = 26) | Rectum (N = 29) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| at consultation | at consultation | at consultation | after consultationa | at consultation | after consultationa | at consultation | after consultationa | at consultation | after consultationa | |
| Patient sex (Male / Female) | 231/280 | 35/59 | 22/43 | 5/13 | 9/16 | 13/16 | ||||
| Patient age (Median / Mean / Range) | 71/69/28–96 | 75/71/39–92 | 73/71/39–92 | 75/70/49–86 | ||||||
| New < 180 days / New > 180 days / Recurrent | 307/134/ 70 | 55/25/14 | 37/20/8 | 18/5/6 | ||||||
| Abdominal symptoms | ||||||||||
| Abdominal pain, upper part | 45 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | |
| Abdominal pain, lower part | 37 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 5 | |
| Constipation | 22 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Diarrhea | 16 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | ||
| Distended abdomen, bloating | 27 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 5 | |||||
| Increased belching, flatulence | 17 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| Acid regurgitation | 14 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||
| Rectal bleeding | 18 | 16 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | |
| Unexpected genital bleeding | 4 | |||||||||
| Haematuria, macroscopic | 7 | |||||||||
| Increased urinary frequency | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Other abdominal problems | 34 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Only one abdominal symptom | 66 | 21 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 5 |
| More than one abdominal symptom | 63 | 23 | 13 | 17 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 2 |
| Any abdominal symptom | 129 (25%) | 44 (47%) | 26 (40%) | 28 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 18 (62%) | 7 |
| No symptom recorded | 382 | 50 | 39 | 11 | 13b | 5 | 11b | 1 | 11 | 4 |
| Non-specific symptoms (given at least one abdominal symptom) | ||||||||||
| Lack of appetite | 26 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
| Unusual tiredness | 25 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Involuntary weight loss | 18 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | |
| Only one general symptom | 24 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| More than one general symptom | 19 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Any general symptom | 43 (33%) | 14 (32%) | 10 (38%) | 9 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 (22%) | 3 |
Patient sex and age, and time from consultation to diagnosis for new cases of cancer. Cohort study with 61,802 patients in primary care (2011–12). Distal colon: 25 sigmoideum + 1 descending. Proximal colon: 8 coecum + 1 appendix + 3 right flexure + 5 transversal + 1 proximal location not further specified. 21 cases of colon cancer did not have information about location. a After consultation, i.e. between consultation and diagnosis: Symptoms not already recorded at consultation for these patients. “Only one..”, “More than..” and “Any abdominal symptom” in this column count patients who had no symptom at consultation. b P-value distal/proximal part of colon = 0.07 (Fisher's exact test). “Abdominal pain” and “Acute abdomen” in free text have both been recorded as both upper and lower abdominal pain. “Changed bowel habit" recorded as both constipation and diarrhea