‘‘Two-Week Waits’’—Are They Leading to Earlier Diagnosis of Soft-Tissue Sarcomas?

Abstract EN

Introduction.

The ‘‘two-week wait’’ was established as a potential means of diagnosing malignant tumours earlier.

This paper investigated whether these clinics are leading to earlier diagnosis of malignant soft-tissue lumps.

Method.

We identified all referrals to our centre from a database over a 4-year period.

Results.

2225 patients were referred to our unit for investigation of a soft-tissue mass.

576 (26%) were referred under the ‘‘two-week wait’’ criteria.

153 (27%) of which were found to have a malignant or borderline malignant diagnosis.

1649 patients were referred nonurgently.

855 (52%) of which were diagnosed with a malignant or borderline lesion.

The average size at diagnosis was 9.4 cm with no difference in size between the different referral routes.

Conclusion.

There is little evidence that the two-week wait clinic is leading to earlier diagnosis of soft-tissue sarcomas with the majority still being referred nonurgently.