Delay in the treatment of cancer can have adverse consequences on outcome. However, despite its foundational importance, we lack standardised estimates of the effect of treatment delay on survival for most treatment indications. Previous meta-analyses have found evidence supporting a continuous association between delay and mortality or local control. A wide variation in reporting of delay estimates has limited meta-analysis. Understanding the impact of delay on mortality and other outcomes such as recurrence or financial impact on patients is essential to designing cancer care systems, pathways, and models of care that deliver affordable and equitable outcomes
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