The Measurement of Delay in Diagnosis and Treatment among Moroccan Women with Cervical Cancer

In Morocco, most of the cervical cancer patients have been reported diagnosed at advanced stage indicating delay in seeking diagnosis and treatment. The main purpose of this investigation was to measure the delay from the first symptom to treatment among Moroccan women with cervical cancer. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study at the National Institute of Oncology Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah in Rabat, Morocco. A consecutive series of patients with locally advanced cervical cancer or metastasic [stage II-IV] were recruited. We calculated delay by using two events dates of two periods in patient's pathway. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was performed to measure the association between all categories of delay and magnitude of total delay. Results: Four hundred and one patients were reached in this study. The median total delay was 183 days, the median patient delay was 120 days, the median diagnosis delay was 110 days, and the median Treatment delay was 57 days. Bivariate analysis showed that patients who did not have respectively patient and diagnosis delay were less likely to have total delay (p<0.001, p<0.001). Conclusions: Future studies are needed to better inform the scientific and healthcare system to effectively address a clear picture of delays.