Observational studyBMJ supportive & palliative care2025
Time toxicity during palliative chemotherapy for advanced malignancies: a prospective study.
Observational study in BMJ supportive & palliative care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Time toxicity in cancer care: a systematic review of definitions and measurement methods.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Pooled it
- Cancer patients' experiences of "time toxicity": a qualitative meta-synthesis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Pooled it
- Time toxicity among patients with cancer: a scoping review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesPatients with advanced malignancies spend a considerable proportion of their limited survival time on healthcare. However, it is not usual practice to consider 'time spent for therapy' when making treatment decisions. This study aimed to calculate the time toxicity associated with systemic therapy in advanced malignancies.
methodsThe study was a prospective (CTRI/2023/05/053281) single-centre study that included adult patients with advanced malignancies receiving palliative intravenous systemic therapy. The time spent away from home for the hospital visit was considered time toxicity. Time toxicity over the 2-month period, divided by total follow-up duration, was calculated to derive the time toxicity index. The time taken for the different activities determined the components of time toxicity. Time toxicity was correlated with patient quality of life.
resultsOf the 92 recruited patients, the median age was 57 (35-88) years, 39 (42%) were women and 34 (37%) patients had gastrointestinal cancers. The median survival time was 7.6 (95% CI 5.6 to not reached) months. The mean time toxicity over the study period was 226 hours (95% CI 194 to 258.7) and time toxicity index was 17% (95% CI 14% to 20.5%). The major components of time toxicity were travel time and hospital formalities. Mean proportion of necessary to non-value-added activities was 8 (SD 9.4). The time toxicity index correlated with QoL.
conclusionsThe study highlights that time toxicity is an important factor in decision-making for patients planned for palliative therapy. Further studies are needed to understand the impact of time toxicity and the meaning patients attach to this. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CTRI/2023/05/053281.
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Registered trials
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.