Elwood J M, Moorehead W P
Br Med J. 1980 May 31;280(6227):1291-4. doi: 10.1136/bmj.280.6227.1291.
The records of all 1591 women with a histologically confirmed primary breast neoplasm who received their primary treatment at the main referral centre in British Columbia and were diagnosed in the years 1945, 1950, 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970, or 1975 were reviewed. The interval from appearance of the first symptom to diagnosis decreased from 1945 to 1960, but no change was seen from 1960 to 1975. An analysis of survival from the date of first symptom showed that long-term survival was greater in patients with a shorter delay between the appearance of symptoms and diagnosis. The demonstration that shorter delay does improve survival, even when assessed from the appearance of the first symptom, yet delay times have not been falling recently, suggests that educational efforts are inefficient.
对1591名经组织学确诊为原发性乳腺肿瘤的女性的记录进行了回顾，这些女性在不列颠哥伦比亚省的主要转诊中心接受了初次治疗，并于1945年、1950年、1955年、1960年、1965年、1970年或1975年被诊断出来。从首次出现症状到确诊的间隔时间在1945年至1960年期间缩短，但在1960年至1975年期间没有变化。对从首次出现症状之日起的生存情况进行分析表明，症状出现与诊断之间延迟时间较短的患者长期生存率更高。即使从首次出现症状开始评估，较短的延迟确实能提高生存率，但延迟时间最近并未下降，这表明教育努力效率低下。
