Kaufman S, Grabau J C, Loré J M
Am J Public Health. 1980 May;70(5):520-2. doi: 10.2105/ajph.70.5.520.
Symptom durations in head and neck cancer patients analyzed as a function of tumor stage suggest a reversal of the "common sense" notion that patients with early disease generally present with a shorter symptomatic period. A possible explanation is that variation in stage at diagnosis is primarily due to intrinsic differences in tumor aggressiveness rather than patient delay. This would imply that early detection programs may be incapable of realizing the potential for improved survival commonly ascribed to them.
对头颈癌患者症状持续时间按肿瘤分期进行分析，结果显示，“常识”观念认为早期疾病患者通常症状期较短，而实际情况却与之相反。一种可能的解释是，诊断时分期的差异主要归因于肿瘤侵袭性的内在差异，而非患者的延误。这意味着早期检测项目可能无法实现通常归因于它们的提高生存率的潜力。
