After 15,289 episodes of rectal bleeding, 184 diagnoses of colorectal cancer were made in men and 154 in women.
Predictive values increased with age and were “strikingly high”, for example, in men with haemoptysis aged 75-84 and in men with dysphagia aged 65-74, the researchers wrote.
They concluded: “New onset of alarm symptoms is associated with an increased likelihood of a diagnosis of cancer, especially in men and in people aged over 65.
“These data provide support for the early evaluation of alarm symptoms in an attempt to identify underlying cancers at an earlier and more amenable stage.”
Source: | This article first appeared on Express.co.uk
