Factors associated with delayed diagnosis of breast cancer; a study in North-West of Iran

Introduction: Delayed diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer leads to the presentation of the disease in advanced stages necessitating more invasive surgical interventions, increasing health care costs and mortality rate, and finally reduced patients' survival. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with delayed diagnosis of breast cancer in the north-west of Iran. Patients and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 70 breast cancer patients referred to the cancer registry of Ardabil city, north-west of Iran. the time from the presentation of clinical symptoms to the initiation of treatment was determined by interviews to identify the system and patients' delays. The data was analyzed in SPSS 19 with the level of significance as P< 0.05. Results: The mean age of the patients was 43.3 +/- 13.2 years. The means of total, patient, and system related delays were 9.4 +/- 1.6 weeks, 63 +/- 9.9 weeks, and 3.1 +/- 2.8 weeks respectively. Regression analysis showed that age, marital status, educational level, monthly income, fear of cancer, and residency were significantly associated with patients' delay. Conclusion: Our results highlighted the important role of patients' related factors in delayed diagnosis of breast cancer. Therefore, it is essential to educate individuals for timely referrals to physicians.