Re: re: Two-week rule: suspected head and neck cancer referrals from a general medical practice perspective

Abstract

Thank you for the invitation and opportunity to respond to the letter ‘Two-week rule: suspected head and neck cancer referrals from a general medical practice perspective’. 1 Murphy J. Re: Two-week rule: suspected head and neck cancer referrals from a general medical practice perspective. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2020; (Available from URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjoms.2020.11.021 (last accessed 15 March 2021)) Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1) Google Scholar Re: Two-week rule: suspected head and neck cancer referrals from a general medical practice perspectiveBritish Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial SurgeryVol. 59Issue 5PreviewI read with interest the article by Talwar et al entitled ‘Two-week rule: suspected head and neck cancer referrals from a general medical practice perspective’.1 The authors make an interesting finding of a 5.5% conversion rate from two-week wait referral to malignant diagnosis. Clearly there is a difficult balance between early diagnosis and appropriate use of resources. It should be noted that The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for the recognition and referral of cancer currently have a set ‘risk threshold’ of 3%. Full-Text PDF