Cancer patients with longer diagnostic wait times face increased risk of poor outcomes
A new study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found the longer patients with positive cancer screening results wait for diagnostic testing, the worse their outcome.
The research was published online March 30 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
“Overall, the evidence suggests that the risk for poorer cancer outcomes rises with longer wait times, which supports performing diagnostic testing as soon as feasible after the positive result,” wrote corresponding author Chyke A. Doubeni, MD, chair of Family Medicine and Community Health at Penn.
Conventional wisdom points to performing a diagnostic test, such as a CT scan, immediately following positive cancer screening results, but Doubeni et al. noted “the assumption of quicker is always better is largely unproven in terms of patient outcomes.”
In this literature review study, the team evaluated articles published between 1998 and 2017. All reviewed research was conducted in an average-risk population, except lung cancer, and used empirical evidence. The group looked at breast, cervical, colorectal and lung cancers.
Overall, the evidence demonstrated that the risk for poorer cancer outcomes rises with longer wait times, but it varies across cancer types. Doubeni et al. suggested performing diagnostic testing as soon as possible after receiving a positive result.
“To ignore these findings is not patient-centered,” said Doubeni in a Penn Medicine release. “The longer a patient waits, the less likely they are to get the diagnostic testing done. There is also the risk that precancerous or early tumors will become more advanced cancers that are more difficult or impossible to cure.”
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.