Delays in treating endometrial cancer in the South West of England

BACKGROUND: Poor cancer survival rates in the United Kingdom are often blamed on delayed medical care. A local audit of endometrial cancer revealed a variety of preventable delays. We surveyed practice in the South West of England to see if this was an isolated or widespread problem. METHODS: All 15 hospitals in the South West of England collected information prospectively from all women with endometrial cancer over 3 months in the spring of 2009. RESULTS: There were delays in all stages of the uterine cancer pathway. Excluding extraneous cases, 52% of women waited more than a month and 12% waited more than 6 months to see their GP from the onset of symptoms. Almost half the cases said they were unaware that abnormal bleeding was a symptom of cancer. Only a quarter of women had treatment within 31 days from the outpatient visit to first definitive treatment and 18% waited more than the target of 62 days for their treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Significant treatment delays occur because women do not report bleeding. If this is replicated throughout Britain, approximately 1000 women per year will delay presentation for at least 3 months and 600 will wait for more than 6 months.