Timeliness of lung cancer diagnosis and treatment in a rapid outpatient diagnostic program with combined 18FDG-PET and contrast enhanced CT scanning.

Introduction: Delays in the diagnosis of lung cancer are under debate and may affect outcome. The objectives of this study were to compare various delays in a rapid outpatient diagnostic program (RODP) for suspected lung cancer patients with those described in literature and with guideline recommendations, to investigate the effects of referral route and symptoms on delays, and to establish whether delays were related to disease stage and outcome.

Methods: A retrospective chart study was conducted of all patients with suspected lung cancer, referred to the RODP of our tertiary care university clinic between 1999 and 2009.