FRIDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- Delaying surgery for bladder cancer decreases patient survival time, says a University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center study that concluded surgery should take place within three months of diagnosis.

Researchers looked at 214 patients diagnosed with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who had radical cystectomy -- an operation to remove the bladder. The time from diagnosis to surgery among the patients ranged from four days to 175 days. Twenty-six patients had a delay of more than 93 days.

The death rate for patients whose surgery was delayed for more than 93 days was 54 percent, compared to 39 percent for those whose had surgery within 93 days.

Patients whose surgery was delayed lived an average of one year and their three-year survival rate was 38 percent, compared to 51 percent for patients whose surgery was not delayed.

Scheduling was the most common reason for surgery delays. Other reasons included: multiple opinions; misdiagnosis, or patient reluctance to be treated. Patient indecision was not a common cause of lengthy delays, the study said.

"Most of these causes for delaying surgery are potentially reversible, and physicians -- despite busy schedules and the need for second opinions -- need to be diligent about coordinating appointments and information in a timely way," study author Dr. Cheryl Lee, director of the bladder cancer program at the University of Michigan Medical School, said in a prepared statement.

The study appears in the April issue of the Journal of Urology.