THE EFFECT OF DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT DELAY ON PROGNOSTIC FACTORS AND SURVIVAL IN ENDOMETRIAL CARCINOMA

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the association of diagnosis and treatment delay with established prognostic factors and survival. STUDY DESIGN: The study group comprised 181 consecutive patients with endometrial carcinoma diagnosed between 1970 and 1986, whose records contained details with regard to diagnosis delay; 174 of them also contained details with regard to treatment delay. RESULTS: The significant prognostic factors that we found, namely, age, clinical stage, grade, depth of myometrial invasion, and histologic type, are in line with those of other studies. However, no significant correlation was found between the duration of delay and these prognostic factors or with survival. CONCLUSION: We conclude that delay of diagnosis (< 1 year) and of treatment of < 4 months do not compromise survival of patients with endometrial cancer.