Impact of delay in diagnosis and treatment-initiation on disease stage and survival in oral cavity cancer: a systematic review.

A significant correlation between patient delay and advanced stage cancer was reported in Asian studies only, while professional delay and total diagnostic delay were generally found to be non-correlated with advanced stage cancer at diagnosis. TTI was in some studies reported to be correlated with poorer outcome, while other studies did not report a correlation. One study presented that there was no clear advantage in overall survival (OS) for patients treated within 30 days, compared to patients treated between 30 and 44 days.