Introduction:

In Colombia the diagnosis of head and neck tumors is late, which represents an increase in mortality, aesthetic and functional sequelae and costs for the health system. Currently, there is little information on the factors that delay the diagnosis and treatment of patients with head and neck cancer.

Methods:

It is a cross-sectional and analytical study. As a reference, the calculation of samples was used for a finite population with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of 5%, for a total of 159 patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer treated between 2016 and 2017.

Results:

A total of 146 patients were evaluated. The most frequent symptoms for those who consulted were neck mass and dysphonia. Only 53.4% ​​of the patients sought immediate medical attention in the presence of the symptom. Of those who did not seek for it, the most frequent cause was the belief that the symptom would spontaneously disappear.

Discussion:

Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that the presentation symptom plays an important role for the patient to decide whether or not to seek immediate medical attention. The presentation symptom and living in rural areas delay the time elapsed between the appearance of the symptom and the first assessment by a primary care physician. The factors that were associated with the delay between diagnosis and the start of treatment were social security and having presented cough as an initial symptom.

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