More than eighty per cent of cancers diagnosed by GPs are spotted in the first two consultations, with more than half being referred to see a specialist at the first appointment, according to a new study. The research, published in the British Journal of Cancer, looked at data from over 13,000 patients in order to measure the promptness of cancer diagnosis in primary care. The study, by Durham, Cambridge and Bangor universities, and co-authored by Dr Georgios Lyratzopoulos, an NIHR post-doctoral research fellow working at the Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research, revealed that some cancers are proving harder to spot in the first few consultations, such as lung cancer and myeloma.