Cough and dyspnoea are now the most common presenting symptoms of lung cancer, with haemoptysis becoming more rare, according to a UK general practice study.

Analysis of data from almost 28,000 patients with lung cancer showed that over a 17-year period, there was an increase in the proportion with dyspnoea (13% vs 22%) or cough (22% vs 23%) as the first presenting lung cancer symptom.

Notably, the proportion of patients presenting with haemoptysis declined from 6% to 2%, and other presenting symptoms such as appetite loss and chest pain also declined over the period from 2000 to 2017.

“Haemoptysis and appetite loss are now relatively rare presenting symptoms of lung cancer,” wrote the authors, from the University of Exeter Medical School, in Devon, UK.