title: Relation between delay and survival in 596 patients with breast cancer.
abstract: To evaluate the influence of delay between first symptom and first treatment upon survival the medical records of 596 patients with breast cancer were reviewed. The following intervals were considered: less than 3 months; 3-6 months and greater than 6 months. Patients in the less than 3 months delay group had a better distribution by clinical stages and a 10-year survival rate higher than those in the longer delay groups (p = 0.034). However, within each stage no statistically significant difference in survival according to delay was observed. A Cox multivariate analysis revealed that performance status and stage of disease were independent predictors of survival, but not delay. Assuming the best prognosis for patients with clinical stages I and II and less than 3 months delay, the group with longer delay times had 15 deaths over what would have been predicted. This adverse effect was observed almost exclusively among patients over age 50 (14/15).
authors.affiliation: Grupo Oncologico Cooperativo del Sur (GOCS), Hospital Municipal Leonidas Lucero, Bahia Blanca, Argentina.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Machiavelli
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Leone
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vallejo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bianco
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Estevez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chacon
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dansky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D013997:Time Factors