Impact of the '2 week wait' on referrals to breast units in the UK.

Thirty six per cent of women with breast cancer were not identified as requiring an urgent clinic appointment by their general practitioner. In contrast, large numbers of women with benign disease are graded as urgent by their general practitioner. Classification of patients with breast symptoms requiring hospital referral by general practitioner does not accurately differentiate between women with benign and malignant breast disease.