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Delayed cancer diagnosis in the pregnant patient: navigating a complex medical and ethical dilemma

  • Special Section: Cancer in Pregnancy
  • Published:
Abdominal Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Prompt diagnosis of cancer in pregnancy is necessary to ensure timely management and improve outcomes. However, there are a several reasons why diagnosis may be delayed in pregnancy. Three major contributors to delayed diagnosis and treatment are patient delay, provider delay, and referral delay. This article aims to (1) increase physician awareness of this problem by providing a detailed review of the main culprits of delayed diagnosis and treatment of cancer in the pregnant patient, (2) discuss the complex ethical issues at hand in these cases, and (3) provide suggestions on how to better address such cases with the goal of improving patient outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, Room TE-2, PO Box 208042, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Margarita V. Revzin, Nadia Solomon, Jonathan Langdon & Ferenc Czeyda-Pommersheim

  2. Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, 5777 East Mayo Blvd, Phoenix, AZ, 85054, USA

    Christine O. Menias

Authors
  1. Margarita V. Revzin
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  2. Nadia Solomon
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  3. Jonathan Langdon
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  4. Ferenc Czeyda-Pommersheim
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  5. Christine O. Menias
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Correspondence to Margarita V. Revzin.

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Conflict of interest

Drs. Margarita V. Revzin, Nadia Solomon, Jonathan Langdon, Ferenc Czeyda-Pommersheim have no conflict of interest. Dr. Christine (Cooky) O. Menias is the Editor in Chief of RadioGraphics.

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Revzin, M.V., Solomon, N., Langdon, J. et al. Delayed cancer diagnosis in the pregnant patient: navigating a complex medical and ethical dilemma. Abdom Radiol 48, 1599–1604 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-023-03860-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-023-03860-x

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