Presentations in suspected cancer

Malignant neoplastic disease includes a vast range of conditions that can originate from and can directly or indirectly affect virtually every organ system of the body. As a consequence of this, the presentation of malignancy can be similarly varied. While a diagnosis of malignancy may be clinically obvious in some cases, in others diagnosis and investigation may be delayed due to non-specific presentations and the attribution of symptoms to non-malignant conditions. Early diagnosis of cancer has an impact on the success of subsequent treatment and overall survival. It is therefore vital to maintain an appropriate level of clinical suspicion when deciding whether and how much to investigate patients with symptoms that could be secondary to an underlying malignancy.