Background: Early colorectal cancer (CRC) symptom recognition and prompt diagnosis are crucial for the identification of cases in the earliest stage and for improving survival. This study investigates the incidence of presentation and diagnosis delays, their contributing determinants and their impact on the cancer stage at diagnosis.
Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 227 CRC patients between November 2022 and October 2023. We developed a semi-structured questionnaire to collect information on the factors related to delays in the presentation and diagnosis. Presentation delay was defined as the time between the initial symptoms and the first consultation exceeding 1 month, while diagnosis delay was defined as the time between presentation and the pathological diagnosis confirmation exceeding 4 months. We examined the impact of these delays on the status of the metastatic disease and identified the determinants of the presentation and diagnosis delays.
Results: The median values for presentation and diagnosis delay are 1 and 4 months, respectively. Patients aged ≥60 years were less likely to experience diagnosis delays odds ratio (OR = 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.28–0.95, p = 0.035), as opposed to those who were younger. The absence of red flag symptoms at presentation (OR = 2.73, 95% CI 1.47–5.10, p = 0.002), the utilisation of complementary and alternative medicine (OR = 2.01, 95% CI 1.12–3.61, p = 0.019) and ≥3 distinct healthcare facility visits before diagnosis (OR = 3.51, 95% CI 1.95–6.29, p < 0.001) were associated with an increased risk of diagnosis delays. Diagnosis delays were also correlated with a higher risk of metastatic disease at diagnosis (OR = 2.04, 95% CI 1.17–3.53, p = 0.011).
Conclusion: Our CRC patients experience considerable delays in their presentation and diagnosis. Diagnosis delays were observed to increase the likelihood of presenting with metastatic disease. Given the determinants and the patients’ perspectives revealed in this study, future research to explore evidence-based approaches to reducing these delays is warranted.
