Effect of specialized diagnostic assessment units on the time to diagnosis in screen-detected breast cancer patients.
Br J Cancer
; 112(11): 1744-50, 2015 May 26.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25942395
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The duration of the cancer diagnostic process has considerable influence on patients' psychosocial well-being. Breast diagnostic assessment units (DAUs) in Ontario, Canada are designed to improve the quality and timeliness of care during a breast cancer diagnosis. We compared the diagnostic duration of patients diagnosed through a DAU vs usual care (UC).METHODS:
Retrospective population-based cohort study of 2499 screen-detected breast cancers (2011) using administrative health-care databases linked to the Ontario Cancer Registry. The diagnostic interval was measured from the initial screen to cancer diagnosis. Diagnostic assessment unit use was based on the biopsy and/or surgery hospital. We compared the length of the diagnostic interval between the DAU groups using multivariable quantile regression.RESULTS:
Diagnostic assessment units had a higher proportion of patients diagnosed within the 7-week target compared with UC (79.1% vs 70.2%, P<0.001). The median time to diagnosis at DAUs was 26 days, which was 9 days shorter compared with UC (95% CI 6.4-11.6). This effect was reduced to 8.3 days after adjusting for all study covariates. Adjusted DAU differences were similar at the 75th and 90th percentiles of the diagnostic interval distribution.CONCLUSIONS:
Diagnosis through an Ontario DAU was associated with a reduced time to diagnosis for screen-detected breast cancer patients, which likely reduces the anxiety and distress associated with waiting for a diagnosis.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Neoplasias da Mama
/
Mamografia
/
Detecção Precoce de Câncer
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
/
Screening_studies
Limite:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Br J Cancer
Ano de publicação:
2015
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Canadá