The number of patients aged over 50 reporting possible cancer symptoms to their GPs fell during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a study at the University of Bristol published in BMJ Open today [25 May] has found. The reduction in reporting was most pronounced for common symptoms, which rarely indicate cancer. It was also significant for ‘alarm’ symptoms, which are more likely to indicate cancer in older age groups, though most of the time they don’t.