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Review
. 2021 Mar 16;13(6):1321.
doi: 10.3390/cancers13061321.

Time-to-Treatment in Oral Cancer: Causes and Implications for Survival

Constanza Saka-Herrán  1 , Enric Jané-Salas  2 , Antoni Mari-Roig  2 , Albert Estrugo-Devesa  2 , José López-López  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Time-to-Treatment in Oral Cancer: Causes and Implications for Survival

Constanza Saka-Herrán et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

The purpose of this review was to identify and describe the causes that influence the time-intervals in the pathway of diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer and to assess its impact on prognosis and survival. The review was structured according to the recommendations of the Aarhus statement, considering original data from individual studies and systematic reviews that reported outcomes related to the patient, diagnostic and pre-treatment intervals. The patient interval is the major contributor to the total time-interval. Unawareness of signs and/or symptoms, denial and lack of knowledge about oral cancer are the major contributors to the process of seeking medical attention. The diagnostic interval is influenced by tumor factors, delays in referral due to higher number of consultations and previous treatment with different medicines or dental procedures and by professional factors such as experience and lack of knowledge related to the disease and diagnostic procedures. Patients with advanced stage disease, primary treatment with radiotherapy, treatment at an academic facility and transitions in care are associated with prolonged pre-treatment intervals. An emerging body of evidence supports the impact of prolonged pre-treatment and treatment intervals with poorer survival from oral cancer.

Keywords: early diagnosis; head and neck cancer; oral cancer; survival rate; time-to-treatment; treatment delays.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Time-intervals in the pathway of diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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