Typical and atypical presenting symptoms of breast cancer and their associations with diagnostic intervals: Evidence from a national audit of cancer diagnosis

Most symptomatic women with breast cancer have relatively short diagnostic intervals but a substantial minority experience prolonged journeys to diagnosis. Atypical presentations (with symptoms other than breast lump) may be responsible. We examined the presenting symptoms of breast cancer in women using data from a national audit initiative (n = 2316). Symptoms were categorised topographically. We investigated variation in the length of the...