Just a four-week delay in cancer treatment can have an impact of recovery
In an article by the British Medical Journal it discusses the impact of delays in cancer treatment on patient survival. The study looked at various types of cancer, including bladder, breast, colon, rectum, lung, cervix, and head and neck cancers. The researchers examined data from 34 studies involving over 1.2 million patients. They focused on curative, neoadjuvant, and adjuvant treatments, such as surgery, systemic treatment, and radiotherapy.
The main outcome measure was the hazard ratio for overall survival with each four-week delay in treatment. The delay could be from diagnosis to the start of the first treatment or between the completion of one treatment and the beginning of the next. The primary analysis only considered high-quality studies that controlled for important prognostic factors.
The results showed that a four-week delay in cancer treatment was associated with increased mortality for 13 out of 17 indications. Surgery findings were consistent, with a mortality risk ranging from 1.06 to 1.08 for each four-week delay. For example, colectomy had a hazard ratio of 1.06, and breast surgery had a hazard ratio of 1.08. Estimates for systemic treatment varied (hazard ratio range 1.01-1.28), and radiotherapy estimates varied for different types of cancer.
The conclusion is that cancer treatment delay is a global issue, and the impact of this delay on mortality can now be measured. Even a four-week delay in cancer treatment is linked to increased mortality across various types of treatment for seven different cancers. The article suggests that policies aimed at minimizing delays in cancer treatment initiation at the system level could lead to improved survival outcomes for the population.
Affected by delayed or late cancer treatment?
The Most Misdiagnosed Types of Cancer are liste below. With our knowledge and experience, we have put together what we believe are the five most common types of cancers that are misdiagnosed:
Other common cancers that medical professionals often misdiagnose are:
- Stomach Cancer
- Leukaemia
This list is not exhaustive, as many other cancers can be misdiagnosed.
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