Patients who have persistently swollen neck glands should be referred for specialist investigation as the symptom could indicate cancer, according to research.
A team of scientists, led by the University of Exeter Medical School, say that such referrals could help to avoid some of the thousands of deaths each year from lymphoma.
Experts say earlier diagnosis is key – currently more than 40 per cent of patients visit their GP with symptoms at least three times before being referred for cancer investigations.
Two studies, by the University of Exeter Medical School and Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Bangor, concluded that persistently swollen neck glands could indicate a high risk of this type of cancer.
The studies, published in the British Journal of General Practice, were the first to investigate the full risk profile for both types of lymphoma in general practice, where most patients first attend.
Willie Hamilton, of the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “Cancer guidelines are based on the most robust evidence, and up to now this has been missing.
“Our research has revealed the importance of persistent swollen lymph glands, particularly in the neck, as part of cancer.
“Of course, swollen glands are common with throat infections, but in cancer, they are usually larger and painless.
“It’s been known for a long time that this could represent cancer – this study shows that the risk is higher than previously thought.”
Both papers focused on patients over the age of 40.
The first was a large-scale assessment of symptoms which were markers of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the more prevalent of the two types of lymphoma with 12,800 new cases are diagnosed each year.
Data from UK primary care patient records from the Clinical Research Datalink was used to compare cases diagnosed between January 2000 and December 2009.
The second study assessed 283 patients over the age of 40 with Hodgkin lymphoma, comparing them with 1,237 control cases.
Findings in both studies were very similar, demonstrating the importance of swollen lymph glands, particularly in the neck.
Liz Shephard, of the University of Exeter Medical School, lead author of the study, said: “Early diagnosis is vital to reducing cancer deaths. We now hope that this research will feed into guidelines to help GPs refer earlier and potentially to save lives.”