Determinants of general practitioner's cancer-related gut feelings-a prospective cohort study.

Background: General practitioners (GPs) use gut feelings to diagnose cancer in an early stage, but little is known about its impact.

Method: Prospective cohort study of patients in 44 general practices throughout the Netherlands, from January 2010 until December 2013. GPs completed a questionnaire regarding gut feelings, patient and GP characteristics, if they noticed a cancer-related gut feeling during patient consultation.