Figure 1.

Definition of exposure variables. We calculated three exposure variables based on information on date of first presentation of symptoms in primary care (B); date of referral to a cancer specialist centre (C); and date of diagnosis (D). ‘The primary care interval’ is defined as (B, C)=time from first presentation to referral to a cancer specialist centre. ‘The secondary care interval’ is defined as (C, D)=time from referral to diagnosis). ‘The total diagnostic interval’ is defined as (B, D)=time from first presentation to diagnosis. Information on date of first symptom (A) was not available.