January 2021 - Professor Yoryos Lyratzopoulos and Dr Monica Koo

Dr Kristi Milley spoke to Professor Yoryos Lyratzopoulos and Dr Monica Koo from University College London. Yoryos is Professor of Cancer Healthcare Epidemiology and leads the Epidemiology of Cancer Healthcare and Outcomes (ECHO) group and Monica is a post-doctoral research associate in the ECHO group. They recently published a paper ‘The prevalence of chronic conditions in patients diagnosed with one of 29 common and rarer cancers: A cross-sectional study using primary care data’ in the journal Cancer Epidemiology. Yoryos and Monica highlight that pre-existing morbidities influence the diagnosis and management of cancer and that the prevalence of specific morbidities in patients diagnosed with common and rarer cancers is not adequately described.They want listeners to be reminded of the interplay between chronic conditions and cancer, and to keep these realities in mind so they can be guided through prevention and more holistic management of patients once they present and are diagnosed with cancer.