Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Length time bias
Introduction
Overview
Overview
The length time bias a bias in medical studies associated with how long a tumor takes to grow. Faster-growing tumors are more likely to be missed than slower ones, and have a poorer prognosis. Since slower-growing tumors are more likely to be detected, this presents a bias in the resulting data that estimates a better prognosis than the actual prognosis.[1]
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]