The role of the emergency department in cancer diagnosis: comparing diagnostic and treatment intervals.

The care setting in which cancer is diagnosed can reflect diagnostic timeliness. This single-center Canadian medical-records review compared cancers first diagnosed through the emergency department (12.8% of new cases) with those diagnosed in the community. Emergency-diagnosed cancers were far more often advanced (65% versus 17% stage IV) and deadlier within one year (39% versus 7%). Diagnosis was faster (19 versus 84 days), largely due to quicker imaging and biopsy. Dedicated diagnostic pathways could speed community diagnosis and improve outcomes.