FACTORS AFFECTING DELAY IN DIAGNOSIS OF COLORECTAL CANCER: A
CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY; FROM TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF KARACHI PAKISTAN
Abstract
Background: CRC incidence is increasing in our region. There is no
specific CRC control program or national cancer registry in Pakistan.
Previously no data has been published on presentation and diagnosis
delay of CRC in our region. This study is conducted to determine the
factor affecting delay in presentation and diagnosis and to provide
baseline information to launch a CRC control program. Primary objective
is to determine factor causing delay in diagnosis of CRC. Secondary
objective is to evaluate relationship between tumor site and stage of
CRC with presenting symptoms and symptom duration. Methods: This project
is a prospective cross-sectional study on 113 biopsy-proven CRC patients
admitted to the surgical ward of civil hospital Karachi. Results: A
total number of participants was 113. Presentation delay was observed in
83.2% of patients. The main reasons for a reported delay in the
presentation were lack of patients’ knowledge that these symptoms may be
cancer (60.4%), the wrong diagnosis by the primary physician (34.6%),
or the patient didn’t want to visit the doctor (0.04%). Most tumors
(95%) originated from the sigmoid and rectum. 38.9% and 44.2% of the
patients diagnosed at Stage 4 and 3 respectively. Conclusions: This
study revealed that CRC patients in Pakistan are facing delays in
presentation and diagnosis. This is the reason behind diagnosis at the
advanced stage with a poor prognosis. Based on this study findings CRC
control program should be introduced to detect CRC at an early stage.
Keywords: Colorectal cancer, Colon, Rectum, Cancer, Presentation delay,
Diagnosis delay.