Abstract
BackgroundLung cancer is typically diagnosed at a late stage. Early presentation and detection of lung cancer symptoms is critical to improving survival but can be clinically complicated and as yet a robust screening method for diagnosis is not available in routine practice. Accordingly, the barriers to help-seeking behaviour and diagnosis need to be considered. This review aimed to document the barriers to early presentation and diagnosis of lung cancer, based on patient and carer perspectives.MethodsA systematic review of databases was performed for original, English language articles discussing qualitative research on patient perceived barriers to early presentation and diagnosis of lung cancer. Three major databases were searched: Scopus, PubMed and EBSCOhost. References cited in the selected studies were searched for further relevant articles.ResultsFourteen studies met inclusion criteria for review. Barriers were grouped into three categories: healthcare provider and system factors, patient factors and disease factors.ConclusionsStudies showed that the most frequently reported barriers to early presentation and diagnosis of lung cancer reported by patients and carers related to poor relationships between GPs and patients, a lack of access to services and care for patients, and a lack of awareness of lung cancer symptoms and treatment. Addressing these barriers offers opportunities by which rates of early diagnosis of lung cancer may be improved.
Highlights
Lung cancer is typically diagnosed at a late stage
Lung cancer symptoms can be different from person to person, and while most people show at least some early symptoms, some show none [8, 9]
We focused on the “contributing factors” section of the model, which indicates that healthcare provider and system factors, patient factors and disease factors contribute to delays in cancer diagnosis and initiation of treatment
Summary
Lung cancer is typically diagnosed at a late stage. Presentation and detection of lung cancer symptoms is critical to improving survival but can be clinically complicated and as yet a robust screening method for diagnosis is not available in routine practice. This review aimed to document the barriers to early presentation and diagnosis of lung cancer, based on patient and carer perspectives. A key reason for poor outcomes in lung cancer survival is the fact that it is typically diagnosed at a late stage when the patient has presented with symptoms. Population based screening for early stage lung cancer using LDCT An alternate strategy is to focus on the reason for late diagnosis These can be due to patient factors, system factors and tumour factors [7].
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