Characterization of diagnostic delay in oral and oropharyngeal cancer at two referral centers

Abstract Objectives To analyze the chronology of diagnosis and determine whether clinical and epidemiological variables have an influence on diagnostic delay at two referral centers. Methods The medical records of all patients older than 18 years diagnosed with oral/oropharyngeal cancer from June 2005 to June 2013 were analyzed using SPSS® 20. The association between epidemiological and clinical variables with patient and professional delay was performed using ANOVA, Student’s t-test, and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results In total, 121 medical records were included in the study. Patients were predominantly brown, male, illiterate, living in country towns, smokers, and heavy drinkers (mean age 64.3 years, SD=12.94). The majority (85.1%) of patients were diagnosed at advanced stages of their disease. The greatest delay was patient-related, mean 197.8 days (SD=323.9). Delay in establishing the medical diagnosis averaged 20 days (SD=25.9), and health care system-related delay was 71.1 days (SD=71.7). There was no association of clinical and epidemiological variables with delayed diagnosis (patient and professional). Conclusion Data from the present study suggest that clinical and epidemiological variables do not influence diagnostic delay.