Purpose: To investigate factors associated with delays in presentation and diagnosis of women with confirmed breast cancer (BC).
Methods: A cross-sectional study nested in an ongoing prospective cohort study of breast cancer patients at Dr Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, was employed. Participants (n = 150) from the main study were recruited, with secondary information on demographic, clinical, and tumor variables collected from the study database. A questionnaire was used to gather data on other socioeconomic variables, herbal consumption, number of healthcare visits, knowledge-attitude-practice of BC, and open-ended questions relating to initial presentation. Presentation delay (time between initial symptom and first consultation) was defined as ≥3 months. Diagnosis delay was defined as ≥1 month between presentation and diagnosis confirmation. Impact on disease stage and determinants of both delays were examined. A Kruskal-Wallis test was used to assess the length and distribution of delays by disease stage. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the association between delays, cancer stage and factors.
Results: Sixty-five (43.3%) patients had a ≥3-month presentation delay and 97 (64.7%) had a diagnosis confirmation by ≥1 month. Both presentation and diagnosis delays increased the risk of being diagnosed with cancer stage III-IV (odds ratio/OR 2.21, 95% CI 0.97-5.01, p = 0.059 and OR 3.03, 95% CI 1.28-7.19, p = 0.012). Visit to providers ≤3 times was significantly attributed to a reduced diagnosis delay (OR 0.15, 95% CI 0.06-0.37, p <0.001), while having a family history of cancer was significantly associated with increased diagnosis delay (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.03-5.04, p = 0.042). The most frequent reasons for delaying presentation were lack of awareness of the cause of symptoms (41.5%), low perceived severity (27.7%) and fear of surgery intervention (26.2%).
Conclusions: Almost half of BC patients in our setting had a delay in presentation and 64.7% experienced a delay in diagnosis. These delays increased the likelihood of presentation with a more advanced stage of disease. Future research is required in Indonesia to explore the feasibility of evidence-based approaches to reducing delays at both levels, including educational interventions to increase awareness of BC symptoms and reducing existing complex and convoluted referral pathways for patients suspected of having cancer.