Abstract / Summary
Background/Objectives: Delayed medical consultation after recognizing breast symptoms may contribute to breast cancer being diagnosed at a more advanced stage. Evidence on presentation delay and its determinants remains limited in Mongolia. This study aimed to determine the frequency and factors associated with presentation delay among symptomatic breast cancer patients and to examine its association with tumor characteristics at diagnosis. Methods: This retrospective observational study included symptomatic patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer treated at the National Cancer Center in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, between 2022 and 2024. Presentation delay was defined as ≥1 month from recognition of the initial breast symptom to first medical consultation. Sociodemographic, clinical, and tumor characteristics were compared according to presentation delay. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with presentation delay and to assess its association with advanced-stage disease. Results: Overall, 169 (69.3%) patients had a presentation delay of ≥1 month. Initial presenting symptom was independently associated with presentation delay. Compared with a breast lump, a long-standing breast lump (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 7.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.14–19.98), breast pain (aOR 3.80, 95% CI 1.89–7.66), and nipple changes (aOR 3.32, 95% CI 1.20–9.21) were associated with higher odds of presentation delay. Age, marital status, education, residence, and body mass index were not independently associated with delay. Stage III–IV disease was more frequent among patients with presentation delay than among those presenting within one month (39.1% vs. 13.3%), and presentation delay was independently associated with higher odds of stage III–IV disease (aOR 4.48, 95% CI 2.12–9.49). Conclusions: Presentation delay was common among symptomatic breast cancer patients in Mongolia. Among the factors measured in this study, initial presenting symptom showed the strongest association with presentation delay, while presentation delay was also associated with advanced-stage disease at diagnosis.