TY - JOUR
T1 - Diagnosis Challenges in Adult Leukemia
T2 - Insights From a Single-Center Retrospective Study in Qatar (2016-2021)
AU - Aboelkhir, Hesham A.B.
AU - El Alaoui, Yousra
AU - Padmanabhan, Regina
AU - Hadid, Majed
AU - Elomri, Adel
AU - Alam, Tanvir
AU - Rejeb, Mohamed Amine
AU - EL Omri, Halima
AU - Taha, Ruba Y.
AU - Elsabah, Hesham
AU - EL Omri, Abdelfatteh
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2025/3/28
Y1 - 2025/3/28
N2 - Objectives: While delays in leukemia detection remain an ongoing challenge in hematologic cancer care, little is known about the factors associated with these delays. This article focuses on identifying the barriers hindering timely diagnosis of leukemia through a cohort analysis (2016-2021) of 220 Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), 161 Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), 90 Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), and 121 Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) patients in Qatar. Methods: Of the 592 patients used for the study, subsets were identified and analyzed for delay (423), risk stratification (437), and leukemia stage (282). Results: There was an increasing trend in leukemia cases, with 32% of patients being diagnosed in the high-risk category. Out of 423 (median delay = 28 days) patients, 45% reported delayed diagnosis (median delay = 44 days). Further analysis of the association of delayed leukemia diagnosis using the univariate (Formula presented.) 2 independence test revealed significant associations to patient referral type, and the presence of certain comorbidities and symptoms. Conclusion: Significant delays in leukemia diagnosis were identified, though the exact cause remains unclear. These delays can be attributed to factors such as patient, primary care, referral, system, and physician delays. Therefore, further investigation is imperative for improving the detection, diagnosis, and referral processes in hematologic cancers.
AB - Objectives: While delays in leukemia detection remain an ongoing challenge in hematologic cancer care, little is known about the factors associated with these delays. This article focuses on identifying the barriers hindering timely diagnosis of leukemia through a cohort analysis (2016-2021) of 220 Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), 161 Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), 90 Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), and 121 Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) patients in Qatar. Methods: Of the 592 patients used for the study, subsets were identified and analyzed for delay (423), risk stratification (437), and leukemia stage (282). Results: There was an increasing trend in leukemia cases, with 32% of patients being diagnosed in the high-risk category. Out of 423 (median delay = 28 days) patients, 45% reported delayed diagnosis (median delay = 44 days). Further analysis of the association of delayed leukemia diagnosis using the univariate (Formula presented.) 2 independence test revealed significant associations to patient referral type, and the presence of certain comorbidities and symptoms. Conclusion: Significant delays in leukemia diagnosis were identified, though the exact cause remains unclear. These delays can be attributed to factors such as patient, primary care, referral, system, and physician delays. Therefore, further investigation is imperative for improving the detection, diagnosis, and referral processes in hematologic cancers.
KW - Qatar
KW - diagnostic delay
KW - hematologic malignancies
KW - leukemia
KW - root causes analysis
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105002220891
U2 - 10.1177/10732748241275026
DO - 10.1177/10732748241275026
M3 - Article
C2 - 40153589
AN - SCOPUS:105002220891
SN - 1073-2748
VL - 32
JO - Cancer Control
JF - Cancer Control
ER -