Delays in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer: can the period between the onset of symptoms and the diagnosis and treatment be shortened?

Background: In Slovenia, lung cancer is the second most common cancer among men and the fifth most common cancer among women. Fiveyear survival is 13 %, and at the time of diagnosis, only 16 % of patients have curable disease. Early cancer diagnosis is associated with better prognosis, so reducing the delay time might increase the number of tumours detected at early stages and might improve survival rates. The aim of our study was to measure the delays to diagnosis and treatment and assess whether the duration of delays were acceptable with respect to other similar studies and recommendations. Methods: We identified all patients with suspicious lung lesions, who were referred to a specialised outpatient clinic (the “Tumour clinic”) in a one-year period. The Tumour Clinic was established to speed up lung cancer diagnosing. We also analysed time from the first symptoms to the patient’s first visit to a specialist, the time from the first visit to the final diagnosis, and time from the diagnosis of lung cancer to the beginning of treatment. Results: We examined the records of 159 patients with suspicious lung lesions, who were referred to the outpatient clinic between January and December 2008. The mean age of the patients was 67 years (range 20–88 yrs). Seventy-four (53 male, 21 female) of the patients were diagnosed with malignant disease, including 61 cases of lung cancer. The median time from the onset of symptoms to the first visit was 67 days, and the median time from the first visit until diagnosis was 10 days. Another 12 days (median time) passed from the time of diagnosis to the beginning of treatment. Conclusions: Patients diagnosed with lung cancer wait too long before seeking appropriate medical assistance. When referred to a specialised outpatient clinic, the diagnosis time of lung cancer and the time from diagnosis to the beginning of treatment were acceptable, but there is still room for improvement.