Treatment Delay in Cancer Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Centre of North India: A Cross - Sectional Study

Introduction: The present study aims to explore the treatment delay in days (from initiation of signs and symptoms to start of definitive treatment) of oral cancer patients attending a tertiary care hospital in North India. Method: A descriptive hospital based crosssectional study was conducted among 425 diagnosed cancer patients aged 18 years attending a tertiary care center of Lucknow district. A pre-designed and pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect information on the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and factors causing delay in treatment initiation. Statistical analysis was done on Statistical package for social sciences, version 26 IBM, Chicago, USA. Descriptive data is represented as frequency percentage, mean SD or proportion. Probability (p) was calculated to test for statistical significance at the 5% level of significance. Association between categorical variables was tested using the Chi-Square and Fischer's Exact test. Mean, median and IQR of treatment was calculated by using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann Whitney test. A minimum 95% confidence interval or p value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Result: Out of 425 study participants, 27.1 percent had oral cancer, 14.6 percent had blood cancer 14.4 percent had breast cancer, 11.8 percent had cervical cancer, 9.2 percent had lung cancer, and 23.1 percent had other cancers (colorectal, oesophageal etc). The mean time taken from identification of signs/symptoms to start of definitive treatment for oral cancer was 127.277.3 days. Conclusion: This study reveals substantial delays between the identification of symptoms and the initiation of treatment, often spanning 25 months. These delays are strongly associated with socioeconomic factors such as low income, education levels, and initial healthcare contact. The findings underscore the urgent need to enhance primary healthcare services in India to facilitate early cancer diagnosis and reduce treatment delays, particularly in marginalized communities.