MORE than a quarter of cancer patients in inner-city Bradford are only diagnosed after an emergency admission to hospital, figures have revealed.

In the 12 months to March, 201 patients were admitted to hospital with cancer in the NHS Bradford City Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area, according to data published by Public Health England.

But 52 patients - 25.9 per cent - were classed as an 'emergency presentation of cancer', meaning they were first diagnosed at the hospital, after coming to A&E, for example, or while being treated for something else. This marks a rise from 24.2 per cent in 2016/17.

The survival rates of emergency admission are substantially worse than routine referrals as patients are more likely to have more advanced and difficult to treat cancers.

In the Bradford Districts CCG, 255 patients out of 1,439, equating to 17.7 per cent, were emergency cases. This represents a fall from 20.5 per cent on the previous year.

And for the Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven CCG area, the figure for emergency cases stands at 17.1 per cent, or 147 patients out of 862, a rise from 16.6 per cent in 2016-17.

Fiona Osgun of Cancer Research UK said it was important for patients to see their GP if they noticed a change in their body.

"Your chances of survival can change so much if the cancer is diagnosed earlier or later", she said.

"Generally, if the symptoms are severe enough to cause an emergency presentation, it is highly likely that the cancer is advanced.

"The treatments that we know give the best chance of cure like surgery are either harder to do or aren't medically viable at stage three or four.

"So your treatment options are limited, and in some cases you’re not going to be treating the patient for a cure by that point, but treating them palliatively."

But the reasons behind emergency presentations are "complex" and not necessarily the result of symptoms being missed by GPs, Ms Ogsun said.

Across England, the proportion of such cases has been coming down, dropping from 19.5 per cent in 2016-17 to 18.8 per cent for 2017-18.

Ian Fenwick, clinical lead for cancer for the Bradford CCGs, said: "We are aware of the challenges we face across our three CCGs when it comes to cancer. Our cancer services are focussing their efforts on improving outcomes for people living in the Bradford district and Craven area.

“This is being achieved by improving screening services and encouraging higher uptake; diagnosing cancer earlier; and better support services for those who have been diagnosed with cancer.

“In the Bradford City CCG area, the Bradford Improving Cancer Survival programme has recently been established to deliver these improvements. This includes sharing best practice around the follow-up care given to breast and colorectal cancer patients."

He added: “We are working with West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership are to tackle cancer across the area; placing more emphasis on prevention by improving lifestyle choice and improving cancer treatment pathways. The partnership is investing in earlier diagnosis, new treatment and better support services to help people live well beyond their cancer diagnosis.”

Some projects include Talk Cancer, encouraging people to discuss issues around cancer and screening; Wise Up to Cancer, encouraging more people to take up potentially life-saving cancer screening and healthier lifestyles; a Yorkshire Cancer Research pilot project using interpreters to phone non-responders for bowel screening, plus the West Yorkshire Alliance Lung Project.