Delay in the diagnosis and outcome of colorectal cancer: a prospective study

Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the incidence of the delay in th e diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma, possible causes of this delay and its effects on outcome. Methods: A prospective study was performed on 100 patients affected by colo rectal cancer. Duration of symptoms was calculated from the date of onset o f symptoms to the date of surgery. Results: Sixty-nine patients suffered delays in treatment of more than 12 w eeks from the onset of symptoms. In patients with symptoms of less than 12 weeks' duration there was a higher incidence of radical surgery and none of these patients presented, at the time of surgery, a neoplastic disseminati on. Multivariate analysis, however, showed that the only Factors with an in dependent effect on 5-year survival and disease-free survival were Dukes st age and the presence of pre-operative complications. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that, independent of the dia gnostic delay, the outcome of the colorectal cancer is only conditioned by tumour stage and by complicated cancer.