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Delay in Diagnosis and Treatment of Symptomatic Breast Cancer in China

  • Breast Oncology
  • Published:
Annals of Surgical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Delay in diagnosis and treatment of cancer may lead to advanced tumor characteristics and poor prognosis. Research and investigation from economically developing countries such as China are warranted to support these conclusions, so we studied the impact on prognosis of delays and factors predicting delay in symptomatic breast cancer patients in China.

Methods

Medical records and follow-up information were collected. Variables including demographic data, and clinical and tumor characteristics, including patient age, menstrual status, residential status, initial symptom, profession, comorbidities, tumor size, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, history of breast disease, and family history of breast cancer, were analyzed, as was survival information.

Results

A total of 1,431 women diagnosed with breast cancers between 1998 and 2005 in Qilu Hospital were enrolled and studied. Delays in diagnosis and treatment were correlated with larger tumor size, lymph node metastasis, late tumor stage, and worse disease-free survival, as assessed by multivariate logistic regression and Kaplan–Meier regression models. Patient residential status, initial symptom, menopausal status, and history of breast disease were independent predictors of delay. Stratified multivariate analyses confirmed that age was not associated with delay.

Conclusions

Delay in diagnosis and treatment predicts worse clinical outcomes. Improvement of medical service in rural areas, especially for premenopausal women, can decrease delays and benefit breast cancer patients.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30772133; 81072150; 81172529; 81272903) and the Shandong Science and Technology Development Plan (2012GZC22115). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Breast Surgery, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China

    Qiang Huo MD, Chang Cai MD, Xiaoli Kong MD, PhD, Liyu Jiang MD, PhD, Tingting Ma MD, Ning Zhang MD & Qifeng Yang MD, PhD

  2. School of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China

    Qiang Huo MD & Chang Cai MD

  3. Department of Nursing, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China

    Yan Zhang BS

  4. Pathology Tissue Bank, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China

    Qifeng Yang MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Qiang Huo MD
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  2. Chang Cai MD
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  3. Yan Zhang BS
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  4. Xiaoli Kong MD, PhD
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  5. Liyu Jiang MD, PhD
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  6. Tingting Ma MD
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  7. Ning Zhang MD
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  8. Qifeng Yang MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qifeng Yang MD, PhD.

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Huo, Q., Cai, C., Zhang, Y. et al. Delay in Diagnosis and Treatment of Symptomatic Breast Cancer in China. Ann Surg Oncol 22, 883–888 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-014-4076-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-014-4076-9

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