Table 1. Diagnostic delays in six cancers – summary of findings from the literature.
| Total delays | Patient delays | Primary care delays | Referral delays | Secondary care delays | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breast | 15 days (Arndt et al, 2003) | 0 days (Jones et al, 1992)4 weeks (Thongsuksai et al, 2000)1/4 >12 weeks (Thongsuksai, 2000)1 Week (Thulesius et al, 2004)14 days (Meechan et al, 2002)16 days (Arndt et al, 2002)13 days (Nosarti et al, 2000) | — | 13 days (Sainsbury et al, 1999)11 days (Jones et al, 1992)9 days (urgent referrals) (Spurgeon et al, 2000)14 days (nonurgent referrals) (Spurgeon et al, 2000)13 days (Nosarti et al, 2000) | — | 1/3 experience total pre-hospital delays of >12 weeks (Richards et al, 1999)Provider delay of 1 Week (Thulesius et al, 2004) |
| Colorectal | - | 60 days (Aithal and Tanner, 1996)27.5 days (Thongsuksai et al, 2000)>6 weeks (54%) (Robinson et al, 1986)16.2 days (mean, rectum) (Holliday and Hardcastle, 1979)12.7 days (mean, colon) (Holliday and Hardcastle, 1979)20–66%) >3 months (Graffner and Olsson, 1986) | 47%>6 weeks (Robinson et al, 1986)15.3 days (mean, rectum) (Holliday and Hardcastle, 1979)11.2 days (mean, colon) (Holliday and Hardcastle, 1979)20–34% >3 months (Holliday and Hardcastle, 1979) | 16 days (Aithal and Tanner, 1996)11 days (Jones et al, 1992)13 days (urgent referrals) (Spurgeon et al, 2000)27 days (nonurgent referrals) (Spurgeon et al, 2000) | 15 days (Aithal and Tanner, 1996)17 days (mean 52) (Potter and Wilson, 1999) | Mean delay to treatment delay: 244 days (Rectal), 149 days (colon) (Langenbach et al, 2003) |
| Lung | 4.6 months (mean 5.8) (Myrdal et al, 2004)189 days (Koyi et al, 2002)109 days (Billing and Wells, 1996) | 21 days (mean 43) (Koyi et al, 2002)31 days (Jones et al, 1992) | 33 days (mean 56) (Koyi et al, 2002) | 7 days (Jones et al, 1992)7 days (urgent referrals) (Spurgeon et al, 2000)12 days (nonurgent referrals) (Spurgeon et al, 2000) | 9 days (mean 33) (Koyi et al, 2002)1.6 months (Myrdal et al, 2004) | 19 (8.6%) total delay >1 year (of whom 18 had adenocarcinoma) (Yoshimoto et al, 2002) |
| Ovarian | 55% <3 months, 26% >6 months, and 11% >12 months (Goff et al, 2000)56% <4 weeks, 30% >8 weeks, and 4% <4 days (Wikborn et al, 1996) | 78% <4 weeks (Kirwan et al, 2002)3.5 weeks (Thulesius et al, 2004) | 73% <4 weeks (Kirwan et al, 2002) | 6 days (Kirwan et al, 2002) 70% <2 weeks (Kirwan et al, 2002)6 days (urgent referrals) (Spurgeon et al, 2000)24 days (nonurgent referrals) (Spurgeon et al, 2000) | — | Mean total pre-hospital delay 95.3 days (s.d. 15.1 days) (Kirwan et al, 2002)Provider delay of 3.5 weeks (Thulesius et al, 2004) |
| Prostate | — | 20 days (Jones et al, 1992) | — | 15 days (Jones et al, 1992)19 days (urgent referrals) (Spurgeon et al, 2000)41 days (nonurgent referrals) (Spurgeon et al, 2000) | — | |
| NHL | — | — | — | — | — |
All delays are medians unless other stated.