Does delay in diagnosis of breast cancer affect survival?

1675 breast cancer patients in the Auckland regional area have been divided into two major groups according to delay in diagnosis greater or less than six weeks. Overall there is no difference in survival although the variables tumour size, skin attachment, and nipple retraction are more common in the group with longer delay, and grade III tumours in those with short delay. Three important prognostic variables (the presence of tumour steroid receptors, positive axillary nodes, and distant metastases at diagnosis) are equally distributed and have a similar effect on survival within the two delay groups. However, in a subgroup of women with negative axillary nodes, short delay is associated with poorer survival, independent of tumour size. More tumours with grade III histology and a negative progesterone receptor status are found in this subgroup. Thus, short delay may constitute a new prognostic variable of some importance when in association with negative axillary nodes.