SynthesisBritish journal of cancer2008
Influences on pre-hospital delay in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer: a systematic review.
Synthesis in British journal of cancer, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 107 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
107 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Treatment delay significantly increases mortality in colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis.GeroScience · 2025Pooled it
- Circulating miRNAs as liquid biopsy biomarkers for diagnosis in patients with colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in genetics · 2025Pooled it
- Clinical and cost-effectiveness, safety and acceptability ofBMJ open · 2017Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Risk factors for emergency presentation with lung and colorectal cancers: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2015Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Guideline for referral of patients with suspected colorectal cancer by family physicians and other primary care providers.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2014Pooled it
- Ethnic inequalities in time to diagnosis of cancer: a systematic review.BMC family practice · 2013Pooled it
- Promoting prompt help-seeking for symptoms - assessing the impact of a gynaecological cancer leaflet on presentations to primary care: a record-based randomised control trial.BMC public health · 2018Trial
- Clinical Decision Support Tool for Early Pancreatic Cancer Detection in Primary Care: Simulation Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Urine 5-HIAA and quality of life in neuroendocrine neoplasia. Is there an association?Rare tumors · 2026Article
- Factors Influencing Healthcare-Seeking Delay Among Chinese Residents: A Cross-Sectional Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2026Article
- How delays in seeking medical care for cervical cancer patients are affected by their health-seeking behaviour: a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Factors associated with diagnostic and treatment intervals in colorectal cancer: A linked data study.International journal of cancer · 2025Article
- Developing user-friendly ambulatory referrals: a quality improvement study in GI referral services at a large academic safety net hospital system.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Attribution of colorectal cancer symptoms to medications for pre-existing chronic conditions: a secondary analysis of a vignette study in England.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Interventions to improve timely cancer diagnosis: an integrative review.Diagnosis (Berlin, Germany) · 2025Review
- Perforated Rectal Cancer Presenting With Symptoms of Sciatic Nerve Compression: A Case Report.Case reports in surgery · 2025Article
- Impact of Self-Reported Long-Term Mental Health Morbidity on Help-Seeking and Diagnostic Testing for Bowel-Related Cancer Symptoms: A Vignette Study.Cancer medicine · 2024Article
- Symptom Burden and Time from Symptom Onset to Cancer Diagnosis in Patients with Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer: A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2024Article
47 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Colorectal cancer is a major global health problem, with survival varying according to stage at diagnosis. Delayed diagnosis can result from patient, practitioner or hospital delay. This paper reports the results of a review of the factors influencing pre-hospital delay - the time between a patient first noticing a cancer symptom and presenting to primary care or between first presentation and referral to secondary care. A systematic methodology was applied, including extensive searches of the literature published from 1970 to 2003, systematic data extraction, quality assessment and narrative data synthesis. Fifty-four studies were included. Patients' non-recognition of symptom seriousness increased delay, as did symptom denial. Patient delay was greater for rectal than colon cancers and the presence of more serious symptoms, such as pain, reduced delay. There appears to be no relationship between delay and patients' age, sex or socioeconomic status. Initial misdiagnosis, inadequate examination and inaccurate investigations increased practitioner delay. Use of referral guidelines may reduce delay, although evidence is currently limited. No intervention studies were identified. If delayed diagnosis is to be reduced, there must be increased recognition of the significance of symptoms among patients, and development and evaluation of interventions that are designed to ensure appropriate diagnosis and examination by practitioners.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.