Delays in treatment of oral cancer: a review of the current literature

Objective. This review aims to update the reader as to the current issues surrounding the delay in treatment of oral cancer. Study Design. We searched Medline/PubMed and the Cochrane database. English-language publications were included. Paired reviewers selected articles for inclusion and extracted data. The strength of the evidence was graded as high, moderate, or low. Results. Eighteen studies met our inclusion criteria. The majority of the studies were retrospective case-control studies (55%). Conclusions. Patient delay continues to be the greatest contributor to overall delay in treatment of head and neck cancers, with an average delay of 3.5 to 5.4 months. In addition, the average professional delay is approximately 14 to 21 weeks. Cumulatively, the amount of delay may be causative for the late stage at which head and neck cancers are diagnosed and subsequently treated.