A correct diagnosis can significantly improve a prognosis for a cancer patient. Disease diagnosis should include an interview with a patient and performance of dedicated tests. Learn causes of wrong cancer diagnosis.
Errors in diagnosis of cancer depend on many factors. Currently used tests allow the fast diagnosis of the disease and initiation of an appropriate treatment. However, results interpretation is not always correct, so certain diseases, such as cancer, can be misdiagnosed. Modern equipment, experienced doctors and a correct analysis of results all contribute to a reliable diagnostic and selection of an effective treatment. Below we discuss issues related to wrong cancer diagnosis in more detail.
How often is cancer misdiagnosed?
Receiving a diagnosis confirming cancer may be quite a shock to you and your family. Many people think that this bad diagnosis means death, but when cancer is diagnosed at its early stages, the chances for the complete cure increase significantly. Even if you have to live with cancer, the regular treatment may prolong life. Unfortunately, many patients disregard first signs of cancer and see a doctor only when it is at a more advanced stage. People usually start to worry when they find a tumour, notice new skin lesions, or start to lose weight drastically, even when they are not dieting.
Even if you do not know precise ailments that indicate cancer, it is worth to dedicate some time to observation of your body. What you should do is to have regular, at least once a year, basic tests, and if given cancer runs in your family, you should expand the diagnostics. After noticing worrying symptoms, the majority of people first decide to see their family doctor. You need to contact them to get a referral to a relevant specialist.
Some of symptoms are not typical for cancer, so GPs do not expand diagnostics. Many tests are not reimbursed and they are expensive, so they are not ordered. When a serious disease is suspected, a doctor may refer you for paid tests. This way, you may quickly obtain detailed information on your health.
As cancer misdiagnosis statistics show, the rate of errors in diagnosis of cancer ranges between 1% and 50%. This level usually depends on its type. In some cases, a healthy person may be falsely diagnosed with cancer, or reverse. A wrong cancer diagnosis usually results from an incorrect interpretation or selection of inappropriate tests.
Cancer misdiagnosis statistics
When a healthy person is falsely diagnosed with cancer, further tests are necessary, which usually exclude the disease. In the case of some people who have cancer, there may be some errors in diagnosis. The information about its type alone does not help in establishing the treatment plan; therefore, an oncologist to whom a cancer patient comes, must perform additional tests to determine the type of the tumour. This procedure prolongs the treatment process. The cancer misdiagnosis statistics presented below show how often cancer is misdiagnosed, when compared with cardiovascular diseases and infections.
Table 1. No or delayed diagnosis – most common diseases versus cancers
Infections | Cardiovascular diseases | Cancer |
Sepsis (9.5%) | Stroke (8.7%) | Lung cancer (22.5%) |
Meningitis and encephalitis (25.6%) | Myocardial infarction (2.2%) | Breast cancer (8.9%) |
Spinal abscess (62.1%) | Venous thrombosis (19.9%) | Colon cancer (9.6%) |
Pneumonia (9.5%) | Aortic aneurysm (27.9%) | Prostate cancer (2.4%) |
Endocarditis (25.5%) | Thromboembolism (23.9%) | Melanoma (13.6%) |
The table presents diseases and rates of a false negative result. In consequence of incorrectly selected tests or their misinterpretation, the disease is not detected sufficiently early. Lung cancer usually gives a wrong result due to the type of tests that need to be performed and mistakes in their interpretation. An X-ray scan of the lungs, usually ordered by a doctor suspecting cancer, is a diagnostic imagining test which interpretation is crucial for the disease diagnosis. It is frequently a cause of cancer misdiagnosis.
Damage associated with a wrong cancer diagnosis
Damage associated with a wrong cancer diagnosis usually result from a situation when a patient reports specific symptoms and a doctor assures them that these signs are benign. And tests are not always ordered. When cancer is detected at a later stage, a chance for complete recovery decreases and there are less treatment options.
The doctor should conduct a thorough interview and perform necessary tests to establish the diagnosis. When cancer is suspected, a patient should be referred to an oncologist, to initiate necessary treatment. Lack of correct diagnosis makes initiation of therapy impossible. The consequences of the wrong cancer diagnosis may include:
- development of an unintended injury;
- mental stress;
- prolonged hospital stay and treatment;
- disability;
- death.
In the cancer diagnostic, frequently the rate of errors in diagnosis is higher than it is for other diseases. Delays in diagnostics may result not only from doctor’s work, but also from too late visit to a relevant specialist. The wrong cancer diagnosis may lead to ineffective treatment, as selected medicines may not work for that specific disease.
All social campaigns and the increase in awareness influence the detection rate of cancer and other diseases. Screening tests programmes offer an opportunity for early detection of lesions, and this is useful in some countries in prostate cancer diagnosis in men. Frequent prevention helps to detect lesions at an early stage and to initiate their treatment sufficiently early.
Damage in cancer diagnostics may also result from a diagnostic error in healthy people. Frequently, lesions require invasive treatment that greatly affects health. Implementation of such treatment in a healthy person exposes them to additional stress, transient disability, limitations in their daily activities, dependence on third parties, as well as no treatment for existing diseases.
The most common errors in cancer diagnostics
The diagnostics, especially concerning cancer, should be based on an interview, symptoms, and tests results with their correct interpretation. The use of appropriate methods is of great significance, as they help to establish a precise diagnosis. The technology used in medicine changes, new diagnostic and treatment methods are developed for many diseases, including cancer. Not every medical facility has access to modern solutions, so errors in diagnosis may appear.
Skills and experience of a specialist significantly influence the test interpretation. A correct calibration of equipment used for body imaging represents an important issue. Diagnostic imagining scans may give a false result, so they should be repeated when there are any doubts. However, it is not always possible. Confirming results with tests using different methods is also a good practice. This will reduce a risk of a wrong cancer diagnosis.
An incorrect cancer diagnosis may be caused by lower experience of a doctor in diagnosing such diseases, as they do not occur as often as infections or viral diseases. Some symptoms are not cancer-specific, so they can be mistaken for other diseases. Frequent symptoms, such as headaches, dizziness, or other ailments are disregarded by doctors.