title: Association between mode of breast cancer detection and diagnosis delay.
abstract: We investigated the association between mode of breast cancer (Bca) detection and diagnosis delay in a case-series of primary, histologically confirmed Bca patients from Southern Italy. Nine hundred and fifty nine women diagnosed with incident, primary Bca were recruited in two southern Italian regions. We grouped the mode of detection into two categories: Self-Detection (S-D) and Mammography (MG). Diagnosis delay was defined as the time between detection and a histologically confirmed diagnosis of invasive Bca. 20.9% detected Bca with MG while 79.1% had S-D Bca. Women who detected Bca themselves (S-D) were more likely to delay breast cancer diagnosis than women who were diagnosed by a mammography (MG) (OR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.39-2.87); when considering the model adjusted for health system-related characteristics, the risk increased (OR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.47-3.09). Our study indicates a disadvantage in terms of diagnostic delay for women who were admitted and treated in community hospitals compared to women admitted and treated in breast health services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, National Cancer Institute, G. Pascale Foundation, Via M. Semmola, 80131 Naples, Italy. anna.crispo@tin.it
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crispo
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Montella
authors.forename: Maddalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barba
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schittulli
authors.forename: Maria Rosaria
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: De Marco
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Quaranta
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Serravezza
authors.forename: Clementina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Savastano
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Botti
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: La Vecchia
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Aiuto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D016504:Breast Self-Examination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008327:Mammography; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors