GP practices across England vary in how frequently they make urgent referrals for suspected cancer. Patients from general practices which make the most urgent referrals are more likely to have their cancer diagnosed at an early stage. A new study found that they are about 4% less likely to die within 5 years. This is ...

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) significantly improved men’s fitness in the short timeframe before cancer surgery. A small study found that HIIT improved the heart and lung (cardiorespiratory) function of men with urological cancers such as of the prostate, bladder or kidney. The authors hope their findings will lead to the development of effective exercise regimes ...

A rare cancer of the urinary system can be effectively treated with chemotherapy after surgery. The largest trial ever conducted into the disease found that giving chemotherapy halves the risk of the cancer coming back after surgery. The results provide clear evidence for this approach to become the new standard of care for patients whose ...

People with mental illness are nearly 25% less likely to receive cancer screening than those in the general population. Results from a large international study suggest this is one explanation for why people with mental illness tend to die 15-20 years earlier than other people. The study included more than 4.5 million people across the ...

Text messaging support helps people quit smoking, more than minimal support such as self-help materials. Also, when text messaging is combined with another smoking cessation intervention, it is more effective than just that intervention alone. However, the evidence to support smartphone apps is absent or of poor quality. This review included 26 studies and builds ...

More intensive follow-up strategies for patients who have surgery to cure bowel cancer do not result in an overall survival benefit when compared with less intensive follow-up. More intensive strategies include increased frequency of clinic visits, blood tests and scans. This Cochrane review did find that those people followed up intensively had more frequent surgery ...

In My Signals, health and social care staff and service users tell us what research is important to them and why they feel others need to know about it. In this collection, we asked seven members of the public to tell us which Signals have interested them most and explain why they feel the findings ...

Continuing to take low molecular weight heparin for two to four weeks after major abdominal surgery significantly reduces the risk of developing a dangerous blood clot. A review of seven studies, mainly in cancer surgery, has found that 13% of patients who received anticoagulant treatment only during their hospital stay developed a clot in the ...

Robotic rectal cancer surgery does not appear technically easier than standard keyhole surgery. The researchers, in this trial, judged this by measuring the need to ‘convert’ a keyhole procedure to open surgery when operating. This NIHR-funded trial also found that robotic surgery produced similar clinical results to standard laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery in treating rectal cancer. ...

A non-live vaccine against herpes zoster provides good, though partial protection for adults undergoing autologous (using the patient’s own) stem cell transplant for treatment of blood cancers. These people cannot use the usual live vaccine, because of their suppressed immune system. An industry-funded trial of the vaccine involved 1,846 patients from 28 countries, including the ...