Analysis Of Delay In Diagnosis And Treatment Of Symptomatic Breast Cancer In Shandong Province

Background:Previous investigations have showed that delay in diagnosis and treatment widely exists and were able to bring about advanced tumor characteristics and Poor survival of malignant tumor Patients. While solid evidence from economically develoPing countries including China was warranted to suPPort the conclusion, and it has not been widely investigated in China yet. It is reported that delay in malignant tumor diagosis and treatment is common, which leads to tumor progression and poor prognosis even in developed countries. Little is known about the reasons of the delay in breast cancr diagnosis and treatment in developing countries, including China.Methods:Female breast cancer patients confirmed by pathological examonation after surgery between July 2014 to January 2015 in Qilu Hospital were enrolled. We collected the demographic and clinicopathological factors, including patient’s age at diagnosis and treatment, residential status, marital status, employment status, delayed time, initial symptom, comorbidities, menstrual status, breast disease history, tumor size, lymph nodes metastasis, distant metastasis, and family history of cancer. We used two months as cut-off and defined the period between initial symptom to diagnosis more than two months as delay in diagnosis and treatment. We statitically analyzed the risk factors that affect delay in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.Results:A total of 567 female breast cancer patients were enrolled in the analyses. Our analyses revealed that larger tumor size, positive lymph nodes metastasis and late tumor stage were statistically significant associated with delay in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Age at diagnosis and family history are independent predictors. After tumor diagnosis, the patients pay more attention to their health and family but less to their property and business.Conclusions:Delay in establishing diagnosis and initiating treatment may result in more advanced disease at the time of diagnosis and worse outcomes. Our study can facilitate earlier diagnosis and treatment, thus reducing potentially significant delays and improving patient outcomes in our country.