Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24515930›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of cancer2014

Variation in promptness of presentation among 10,297 patients subsequently diagnosed with one of 18 cancers: evidence from a National Audit of Cancer Diagnosis in Primary Care.

Stuart Keeble, Gary A Abel, Catherine L Saunders, Sean McPhail, Fiona M Walter, Richard D Neal, Gregory P Rubin, Georgios Lyratzopoulos

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of cancer, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
59citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
4.9field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
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

59 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 90 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A systematic review of factors associated with the patient and diagnostic intervals in gastric cancer.Gastric cancer : official journal of the International Gastric Cancer Association and the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association · 2026
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  3. Patient and primary care delays in the diagnostic pathway of gynaecological cancers: a systematic review of influencing factors.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2019
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  15. Factors influencing symptom appraisal and help-seeking of older adults with possible cancer: a mixed-methods systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2022
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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

8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Stuart KeebleCambridge Centre for Health Services Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Gary A Abel
Catherine L Saunders
Sean McPhail
Fiona M Walter
Richard D Neal
Gregory P Rubin
Georgios Lyratzopoulos
University of Cambridge · GBBangor University · GBDurham University · GBPublic Health England · GB

Funding

Department of Health PDF-2011-04-047Medical Research Council MR/K02325X/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cancer awareness public campaigns aim to shorten the interval between symptom onset and presentation to a doctor (the 'patient interval'). Appreciating variation in promptness of presentation can help to better target awareness campaigns. We explored variation in patient intervals recorded in consultations with general practitioners among 10,297 English patients subsequently diagnosed with one of 18 cancers (bladder, brain, breast, colorectal, endometrial, leukaemia, lung, lymphoma, melanoma, multiple myeloma, oesophageal, oro-pharyngeal, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, renal, stomach, and unknown primary) using data from of the National Audit of Cancer Diagnosis in Primary Care (2009-2010). Proportions of patients with 'prompt'/'non-prompt' presentation (0-14 or 15+ days from symptom onset, respectively) were described and respective odds ratios were calculated by multivariable logistic regression. The overall median recorded patient interval was 10 days (IQR 0-38). Of all patients, 56% presented promptly. Prompt presentation was more frequent among older or housebound patients (p < 0.001). Prompt presentation was most frequent for bladder and renal cancer (74% and 70%, respectively); and least frequent for oro-pharyngeal and oesophageal cancer (34% and 39%, respectively, p <.001). Using lung cancer as reference, the adjusted odds ratios of non-prompt presentation were 2.26 (95% confidence interval 1.57-3.25) and 0.42 (0.34-0.52) for oro-pharyngeal and bladder cancer, respectively. Sensitivity analyses produced similar findings. Routinely recorded patient interval data reveal considerable variation in the promptness of presentation. These findings can help to prioritise public awareness initiatives and research focusing on symptoms of cancers associated with greater risk of non-prompt presentation, such as oro-pharyngeal and oesophageal cancer.

Indexed as

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasmsPatient CompliancePrimary Health CareYoung Adultbladdercancerdelayoesophagealoro-pharyngealpatient intervalpresentationpromptnessrenalvariation

Identifiers

PMID24515930
PMCPMC4277322
OpenAlexW1518652984

What OpenQuestion 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 OpenQuestion graph.