Dyspnoea, cough now the most common lung cancer symptoms
Medical education needs to be updated to reflect the change
7th February 2020
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