• Marion Lamort-Bouché, Marine Chardon, Nadir Kellou, Isabelle Ray-Coquard, Cyrille Colin, and Laurent Letrilliart.
• Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.
• Eur J Gen Pract. 2020 Dec 1; 26 (1): 95-101.

BackgroundThe overall activity of general practitioners (GPs) related to cancer screening and follow-up is poorly documented.ObjectivesTo describe cancer screening and follow-up activities carried out in general practice and analyse them according to the socio-economic characteristics of patients.MethodsWe used data from a French nationwide, multicentre, cross-sectional study that described the distribution of health problems managed in general practice and the associated processes of care. Analyses were adjusted on age and gender when appropriate, using a multivariate, hierarchical, linear mixed-effects model.ResultsAmong 20,613 consultations recorded, 580 involved cancer screening (2.8%) and 475 cancer follow-ups (2.3%). The most frequent cancer screening procedures concerned colorectal cancer (38.6% of screening procedures), breast cancer (32.6%), cervical cancer (17.0%), and prostate cancer (9.3%). In consultations with female patients, the most frequent types of cancer followed up were breast (44.9%) and colorectal cancer (10.5%), and with male patients, the most frequent were prostate (37.3%) and skin cancer (10.3%). After adjustment on age and gender, consultations with cancer follow-up included a mean 1.9 health problems managed in addition to cancer. Consultations with cancer screening or follow-up issue less often involved a patient on low income than other consultations (2.4% vs. 4.2%, and 1.1% vs. 4.2%, respectively).ConclusionAround 5% of French general practice consultations include cancer screening or follow-up. Socio-economical inequalities demand further research.

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