Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40647377›Full record

ReviewCancers2025

The Impact of Treatment Delay on Endometrial and Ovarian Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review.

Dimitrios Zouzoulas, Tilemachos Karalis, Iliana Sofianou, Christos Anthoulakis, Katerina Tzika, Menelaos Zafrakas, Eleni Timotheadou, Grigoris Grimbizis, Dimitrios Tsolakidis

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cancers, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Psychosocial Stress Exposures and Advanced Disease at Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis.Cancer control : journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center
    Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Dimitrios Zouzoulas1st Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, "Papageorgiou" Hospital, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece.ORCID 0000-0003-2518-5657
Tilemachos Karalis1st Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, "Papageorgiou" Hospital, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece.ORCID 0000-0002-3598-5650
Iliana Sofianou1st Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, "Papageorgiou" Hospital, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Christos Anthoulakis1st Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, "Papageorgiou" Hospital, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Katerina Tzika1st Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, "Papageorgiou" Hospital, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Menelaos Zafrakas1st Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, "Papageorgiou" Hospital, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Eleni TimotheadouDepartment of Oncology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, "Papageorgiou" Hospital, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece.ORCID 0000-0003-2545-8926
Grigoris Grimbizis1st Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, "Papageorgiou" Hospital, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Dimitrios Tsolakidis1st Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, "Papageorgiou" Hospital, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectivesOvarian and endometrial cancers present significant health burdens due to their substantial morbidity and mortality. Surgery delay is hypothesized to negatively impact patient outcomes, yet evidence remains inconsistent. This systematic review aims to comprehensively evaluate current evidence regarding the effects of treatment delay on survival and quality of life in these patients.

methodsA systematic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane Library, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases, complemented by a manual screening of reference lists, with studies included up to March 2025. Two independent reviewers screened and assessed the methodological quality using the ROBINS-E tool and extracted the data from the studies. Due to substantial methodological and clinical heterogeneity, results were synthesized qualitatively through narrative synthesis.

resultsTwenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising predominantly retrospective cohort analyses. Treatment delays consistently correlated with decreased survival and advanced disease stages. Among studies, optimal intervals from diagnosis to treatment were varied from 2 to 8 weeks. Patient-reported outcomes indicated heightened anxiety, increased distress, and poor satisfaction with prolonged delays. Healthcare system factors such as resource allocation, geographic disparities, and socioeconomic inequalities significantly contributed to delays. Quantitative survival metrics supported a clear negative association between treatment delays and survival, although paradoxical outcomes in select subgroups highlighted underlying complexities.

conclusionsThis systematic review underscores the critical importance of minimizing delays in the treatment of ovarian and endometrial cancers to improve patient survival and psychological outcomes. Identified healthcare system barriers demand targeted policy interventions to ensure timely and equitable access to tertiary healthcare infrastructures. Future research should prioritize standardizing delay definitions to strengthen and homogenize evidence.

Indexed as

endometrial cancerovarian cancerquality of lifesurvival outcomestreatment delay

Identifiers

PMID40647377
PMCPMC12248798

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.