NEW research shows tracking what shoppers buy, via loyalty-card data, can help spot those with early signs of cancer, researchers who ran a study said.
Frequent purchases of OTC painkillers and indigestion tablets revealed a higher risk of ovarian cancer, they found, BBC reported.
Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed late as there is no reliable screening test and the symptoms, such as bloating, can be vague and confused with other common, harmless conditions.
Other symptoms include indigestion, pelvic or abdominal pain, loss of appetite or feeling full quickly after eating and needing to urinate more often.
Dr James Flanagan, the lead author of the Cancer Research UK-funded work, said: "The cancer symptoms we are looking for are very common - but for some women, they could be the first signs of something more serious.
"Using shopping data, our study found a noticeable increase in purchases of pain and indigestion medications among women with ovarian cancer, up to eight months before diagnosis, compared with women without ovarian cancer.
"This suggests that long before women have recognised their symptoms as alarming enough to go to the GP, they may be treating them at home."
The researchers worked with two big high street retailers and 283 females, who agreed to share their shopping data over six years.
Most had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
More research is needed to confirm the findings, the researchers said.
The team now plans to test if shopping data can help spot other cancers too.
Learn more HERE.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 30 Jan 23
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 30 Jan 23
