Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40908299›Full record

ArticleBritish journal of cancer2025

Recommendations for studying the association of the cancer diagnosis to treatment interval with overall survival: a modified Delphi process.

Matthew Jalink, Will D King, Benjamin O Anderson, Rinku Sutradhar, Marie Louise Tørring, Michael D Brundage, Patti A Groome, Kelvin K W Chan, Robin Urquhart, Yingwei Peng and 7 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in British journal of cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

17 authors.

Matthew JalinkDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada. matt.jalink@queensu.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2269-8521
Will D King *Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Benjamin O AndersonDepartment of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7217-7428
Rinku SutradharInstitute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Marie Louise TørringSchool of Culture and Society, Department of Anthropology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0665-2993
Michael D BrundageDivision of Cancer Care and Epidemiology, Sinclair Cancer Research Institute at Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Patti A GroomeDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4823-313X
Kelvin K W ChanInstitute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Robin UrquhartDepartment of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Yingwei PengDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7391-9788
Antoine EskanderInstitute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4326-1393
Surbhi GroverDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7443-5937
Michael J RaphaelSunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Richard GrieveDepartment of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, England.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8899-1301
Cassidy LaubDivision of Cancer Care and Epidemiology, Sinclair Cancer Research Institute at Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-9769-6908
Christopher M BoothDivision of Cancer Care and Epidemiology, Sinclair Cancer Research Institute at Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1353-3653
Timothy P Hanna *Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada. tim.hanna@kingstonhsc.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3228-6042

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe duration from diagnosis to primary treatment initiation (DTI) is an important interval for patients with cancer, as delayed treatment has been found to be associated with heightened recurrence rates and worsened survival. Studying the association between DTI duration and overall survival (OS) is biased and confounded by clinical triaging, heterogeneous definitions, and variation in analytic approaches.

objectiveTo develop consensus-based guidance for conducting studies investigating the association of DTI duration and OS.

methodsA multidisciplinary panel was recruited to participate in a three-round modified Delphi approach to develop consensus recommendations on the best methodological practices when studying the association between DTI duration and OS.

resultsThe Delphi panel consisted of 15 experts in the fields of epidemiology, biostatistics, health services research, oncology, and health policy. A list of 24 recommendations with accompanying elaborations was generated including variable definition and measurement, cohort creation, confounder control, pertinent biases, analytic techniques, and balanced interpretation of results.

conclusionProviding valid evidence of the DTI effect on OS requires careful approaches. This paper offers recommendations on how to improve methodological quality. This will ensure that future studies effectively contribute to evidence-informed practice decisions on appropriate waiting times for patients with cancer.

Indexed as

NeoplasmsTime-to-TreatmentConsensusDelphi TechniqueHumansTime Factors

Identifiers

PMID40908299
PMCPMC12603028

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.