Impact of diagnostic delay in testis cancer: Results of a large population-based study: Huyghe E, Muller A, Mieusset R, Bujan L, Bachaud JM, Chevreau C, Plante P, Thonneau P, Human Fertility Research Group, Paule de Viguier Hospital, Toulouse University I

Objective cancer is the most common cancer in young men, and its incidence continues to rise. Even if prognosis is considered as good, a group with bad prognosis still remains. Diagnostic delay (DD), defined as the time elapsing from the onset of tumor symptoms to the day of diagnosis, is a way to evaluate the rapidity of diagnosis. We assessed the relationship between DD, disease stage, and survival rate. s es of 542 patients diagnosed with a germ cell tumor between 1983 and 2002 at health facilities in the Midi-Pyrenees region, southwest France, were asked about DD. We analyzed DD together with data regarding the disease (histologic type, stage), its treatments, and prognosis (impact on survival). s D was longer in seminoma (4.9 +/– 6.1 mo) than in non-seminomatous germ cell tumor (NSGCT; 2.8 +/– 4.0 mo). DD was correlated with disease stage for the whole population (P = 0.014) and for NSGCT (P = 0.0009), but not for seminoma. DD had a significant impact on the 5-year survival rate in the overall population (P = 0.001) and in the NSGCT group (P = 0.001), but not in the seminoma group. Global trends in mean DD did not change over the 20-year study period, but we observed a slight decrease during the last decade. sions highly correlated with stage and survival in NSGCT. Urologists should promote programs to enhance awareness and knowledge of testis cancer, so the diagnosis can be made more rapidly.