The 2-week wait service: a UK tertiary colorectal centre's experience in the early identification of colorectal cancer.

Objectives: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines were introduced in the UK to ensure that patients with high-risk symptoms of colorectal cancer were reviewed promptly. We assessed the proportion of patients referred to our department's nurse-led 2-week wait (2WW) clinic with high-risk symptoms or signs that met these guidelines and the rate of colorectal cancer pickup.

Patients And Methods: Patients were identified from a prospectively maintained logbook of 2WW referrals over a 1-year period (1 January 2008-31 December 2008). Computerized notes were reviewed to obtain the following information: referral symptoms or signs and the proportion of patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

Results: A total of 720 patients were seen in the 2WW clinic over this period. Only 356/720 (49.4%) met the referral criteria. The overall pickup rate of colorectal cancer was 52/720 (7.2%) and was not found to be significantly higher in patients meeting guidelines compared with those who did not exhibit these features (7.6 vs. 6.9%; P=0.771). Over the 5-year follow-up period, no patients discharged from the 2WW pathway subsequently re-presented with colorectal cancer.

Conclusion: Over half of the referrals did not meet the NICE criteria, suggesting that the system is being used as a rapid access route to investigation. Despite this, there is no significant difference in the pickup rate of colorectal cancer in patients with or without high-risk features. Nurse-led 2WW clinics with subsequent investigation appear to be effective in both the identification and exclusion of colorectal cancer.