Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the 7th most common cancer worldwide, affecting over half a million people annually. In the Netherlands alone, more than 3,000 new cases are diagnosed each year—yet over half present at an advanced stage, where prognosis is poorer and treatment more challenging.
Primary care is the gateway to specialized cancer services, making it a critical setting for reducing time to diagnosis (TTD) and improving patient outcomes. However, before this study, no nationwide, data-driven analysis had mapped the healthcare pathway from the first GP consultation to an HNC diagnosis in the Netherlands.
Research challenge
While cancer registries typically capture diagnosis and staging, they often lack insight into the pre-diagnostic journey—especially the symptom trajectory, GP encounters, and delays influenced by comorbidities.
Key gaps included:
- Limited understanding of symptom presentation patterns in primary care for HNC
- Sparse connectivity between GP records, pathology data (including HPV status), and cancer registry information
- Few studies quantifying how patient factors, tumor characteristics, and healthcare utilization influence TTD
Read the full case study
"*" indicates required fields
