Abstract
Objective: As part of the national Be Clear on Cancer campaign, the ‘blood in pee’ campaign was launched in 2013. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the campaign on 2-week wait (2WW) referrals and the resulting diagnoses of malignancy at a single trust, and secondly, to evaluate the socio-economic background of patients referred. Patients and methods: Suspected cancer 2WW patients in the 3 months pre- and post-campaign were included. Demographics, investigations and diagnoses were recorded. A Kolmogorov–Smirnov test demonstrated a normal distribution. The data were treated as parametric and analysed with the unpaired Student’s t-test. Results: Referrals for visible haematuria significantly increased by 52% from 135 pre-campaign to 205 post-campaign ( p = 0.03). There was a fall in the proportion of patients diagnosed with malignancy from 20.27% pre-campaign to 15.36% post-campaign. The mean index of multiple deprivation score of referrals did not change: p = 0.43. Conclusion: This campaign has increased referrals without increasing the proportion of malignancies diagnosed, placing large demand on services without benefit or extra funding. Nor has the campaign effectively reached deprived socio-economic groups. There is little evidence as to the efficacy of untargeted cancer awareness campaigns and further work is needed to improve their pick-up of malignancies. Level of evidence: 2C
Highlights
About a quarter of new cases of bladder cancer diagnosed are at a late stage, a concern addressed by NICE in their guidelines highlighting symptoms associated with bladder cancer and the appropriate referral pathway for patients with suspected bladder cancer.(1)Several public awareness studies have shown that knowledge of symptoms and risk factors for cancer among the general population is poor (2)
Referrals for visible haematuria significantly increased by 52% from 135 pre-campaign to 205 post-campaign (p = 0.03)
There was a fall in the proportion of patients diagnosed with malignancy from 20.27% pre-campaign to 15.36% post-campaign
Summary
About a quarter of new cases of bladder cancer diagnosed are at a late stage, a concern addressed by NICE in their guidelines highlighting symptoms associated with bladder cancer and the appropriate referral pathway for patients with suspected bladder cancer.(1)Several public awareness studies have shown that knowledge of symptoms and risk factors for cancer among the general population is poor (2). It is thought that increased awareness of key symptoms of bladder cancer would help earlier detection and improve survival. The UK Department of Health published “Improving outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer” in 2011. This strategy included public awareness campaigns designed to help people recognise symptoms of concern. The advertising highlights that finding cancer earlier makes cure more likely. The campaign was aimed at men and women above the age of 50 from lower socio-economic groups. This included advertising on television and radio, in newspapers, internet and branded pharmacy bags
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