Abstract

The UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recently highlighted clinical issues surrounding the diagnosis of cancer in primary care. This book groups together a series of useful articles on cancer diagnoses that may be easily missed at first presentation in primary care together with other articles on the early diagnosis of important infections and inflammatory conditions. The spectrum of conditions ranges from colorectal, lung, ovarian and pancreatic cancers to primary HIV infection, infective endocarditis, giant cell arteritis and appendicitis. All articles describe data to support the assertion that the conditions are often overlooked in primary care and that failure to recognise the diagnosis may have serious implications for the patient.