Effect of diagnostic delay on survival in patients with colorectal cancer: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Disparate and contradictory results make studies necessary to investigate in more depth the relationship between diagnostic delay and survival in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between the interval from first symptom to diagnosis (SDI) and survival in CRC.

Methods: Retrospective study of n = 942 CRC patients.

Primary melanoma of the adrenal gland: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Primary melanoma of the adrenal gland is exceptionally rare as demonstrated by the few cases reported in the medical literature, and it has a high fatality rate. We present the case of a patient with two relapses and survival to date.

Case Report: We describe the case of a 58-year-old Caucasian woman who consulted her doctor with symptoms of asthenia, anorexia and weight loss.

Diagnosis delay and follow-up strategies in colorectal cancer. Prognosis implications: a study protocol.

Background: Controversy exists with regard to the impact that the different components of diagnosis delay may have on the degree of invasion and prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer. The follow-up strategies after treatment also vary considerably. The aims of this study are: a) to determine if the symptoms-to-diagnosis interval and the treatment delay modify the survival of patients with colorectal cancer, and b) to determine if different follow-up strategies are associated with a higher survival rate.