Disease-Specific Biomarkers for Early Diagnosis of Hematologic Malignancies

Prior to diagnosis, patients with haematological cancers often have multiple primary care consultations, resulting in Diagnostic Delay. They are less likely to be referred urgently to hospital and often present as emergencies. Howell et al. [1] examined patient perspectives of time to help-seeking and diagnosis, as well as associated symptoms and experiences using the following method; The UK’s Haematological Malignancy Research Network (www.hmrn.org) routinely collects data on all patients newly diagnosed with myeloma, lymphoma and leukaemia (>2000 annually; population 3.6 million). With clinical agreement, patients are also invited to participate in an on-going survey about the circumstances leading to their diagnosis (presence/ absence of symptoms; type of symptom(s) and date(s) of onset; date medical advice first sought (help-seeking); summary of important experiences in the time before diagnosis). From 20042011, 8858 patients were approached and 5038 agreed they could be contacted for research purposes; 3329 requested and returned a completed questionnaire.