# Cancer treatment delay and 5-year mortality among patients diagnosed with common cancers from 2000 to 2017 in the Philippines

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-cambia-treatment-delay-mortality-rizal-jjco-2025/  
OnCo record `paper-cambia-treatment-delay-mortality-rizal-jjco-2025` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

In 21,740 patients from the Department of Health's Rizal Cancer Registry, waiting more than 90 days from diagnosis to treatment was linked to a higher risk of death within five years, most clearly in breast and cervical cancer and in cancer that had not spread.

## Summary

A retrospective cohort of 21,740 patients diagnosed with common cancers between 2000 and 2017 in the Department of Health Rizal Cancer Registry, followed for deaths to 2022. Treatment delay was grouped as under 30, 30 to 90 or over 90 days, and Poisson regression with robust variance estimated the risk of death from any cause within five years, by cancer type and stage.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Journal: Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology
- Year: 2025
- DOI: 10.1093/jjco/hyaf139
- Authors: Cambia JM, Orlina ECA, Calvez GAC, Liu JJ
- Findings: After adjustment, a delay of more than 90 days carried a five-year mortality risk ratio of 1.09 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.14) against a delay under 30 days.; The association was significant for breast and cervical cancer but not the other cancer types.; It was significant in cancer that had not spread at diagnosis, not in metastatic cancer.
- What it means: Shortening the time from diagnosis to first treatment matters most for cancers that can still be cured, which is the case the Philippines' 2019 cancer law makes for patient navigation and referral pathways.
- Caveats: One registry covering Rizal province and part of Metro Manila, not the whole country.; All-cause mortality, and only patients who received treatment.

## Sources

- Jpn J Clin Oncol 2025: https://doi.org/10.1093/jjco/hyaf139
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40928462/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Breast cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-cancer/), [Cervical cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical/)
- institutions: [Department of Health Rizal Cancer Registry](https://onco.cc/institutions/doh-rizal-cancer-registry/)

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