Variation in use of the 2-week referral pathway for suspected cancer: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: A 2-Week Wait (2WW) referral pathway for earlier diagnosis of suspected cancer was introduced in England in 2000. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of patients with cancer are diagnosed by other routes (detection rate), only a small proportion of 2WW referrals have cancer (conversion rate) and there is considerable between-practice variation.

Aim: This study examined use by practices of the 2WW referral in relation to all cancer diagnoses.