identify factors which may influence the time taken to achieve a diagnostic outcome. No statistically significant association between diagnostic delay and tumor stage could be shown. Being female or married was predictive of presenting with early stage disease. The type of referrer (doctor, dentist, and specialist) was not significantly related to duration of delay. Schentler et al (1992) compared professional delay in the diagnosis of oral cancer between medical practitioners and dentists. Data was obtained by analyzing the referral letters of patients diagnosed with an intraoral tumor and who were referred to one of three oral and maxillofacial surgery departments in there district hospitals in the UK. Patients were excluded if the referral letters deemed to not include sufficient information. The criteria used to define professional delay were that delay in referral was considered to be present if referral from primary healthcare professional did not occur within two days of initial presentation. No statistical test measuring the significance of relation between variables undertaken, however this study claims that general medical practitioners were better at referring cases of oral cancer than their dental colleagues. As can be seen from the previous discussion, there is a considerable body of literature pertaining to delays in the diagnosis of head neck cancer. Materials and methods Study design: •
A cross sectional study
Place of study: •
Dhaka Dental College and Hospital
•
Department of E.N.T Dhaka Medical College and Hospital
Period of study: •
From April 2009 to July 2010
Sample size: •
Total number of patients is 53
Inclusion criteria: •
Patients having stage III and IV tumors.
Exclusion criteria: • Stage I and II lesion. • Non co-operative. • Handicap patients. Sample selection The data were collected from Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dhaka Dental College and Hospital, and Dept. of ENT, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. Patients diagnosed