ReviewThe oncologist2015
Distance as a Barrier to Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: Review of the Literature.
Review in The oncologist, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 295 papers, 8 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
295 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Reporting of Rurality, Deprivation, and Socioeconomic Characteristics in Cancer Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review.JAMA network open · 2026Pooled it
- Built environment (BE) and cancer: a systematic review of the BE's impact during the treatment journey and patient outcomes.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2026Pooled it
- The Impact of Travel Distance on Cancer Stage at Diagnosis for Cancer: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Health care accessibility and mobility in breast cancer: a Latin American perspective.BMC health services research · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic review on the qualitative experiences of people living with lung cancer in rural areas.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Pooled it
- Patients' perspectives on the relevance of biosimilars' outcomes in oncology: qualitative study with nominal group technique.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Pooled it
- Impact of connected health interventions on psychological wellbeing and quality of life in patients with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Psycho-oncology · 2022Pooled it
- Financial toxicity of cancer care in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- A stepped-care approach to self-management: a qualitative study among individuals with cancer and their caregivers using the Coping-Together program.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Trial
- Associations of surgical breast cancer treatment at regional or community hospitals with patient-reported experience measures.Breast cancer research and treatment · 2026Article
- Where You Live and Where You Are Treated: Addressing Disparities in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- Characterizing the Objective Time Spent on Health Care Activities in Clinic and at Home for Patients With Cancer.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Timeliness of Colorectal Cancer Care in Veterans: The Role of Travel Distance.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Residential location shapes initial prostate cancer care in Korea (2010-2020): A nationwide stage- and risk-stratified study.Investigative and clinical urology · 2026Article
- Article
- A Population Based Analysis of Breast Cancer Outcomes Among Disaggregated Asian American and Pacific Islander Women.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- Prioritizing radiotherapy infrastructure in depopulating societies: a 2050 blueprint from Akita, Japan.Journal of radiation research · 2026Article
- The influence of urban versus rural residence and travel distance on net income, out-of-pocket payments and quality of life in German head and neck cancer survivors.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2026Article
- Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with worse survival in localized extremity soft tissue sarcoma.BMC cancer · 2026Article
235 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The burden of travel from a patient's residence to health care providers is an important issue that can influence access to diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Although several studies have shown that the travel burden can result in delays in diagnosis and treatment of many common cancers, its role appears underestimated in the treatment of patients in clinical practice. Therefore, we performed a review of the published data on the role of travel burden influencing four items: delay of diagnosis, adequate treatment of cancer, outcome, and quality of life of cancer patients. Forty-seven studies published up to December 2014 were initially identified. Twenty studies were excluded because they did not regard specifically the four items of our review. Twenty-seven studies formed the basis of our study and involved 716,153 patients. The associations between travel burden and (a) cancer stage at diagnosis (12 studies), (b) appropriate treatment (8 studies), (c) outcome (4 studies), and (d) quality of life (1 study) are reported. In addition, in two studies, the relation between travel burden and compliance with treatment was examined. The results of our review show that increasing travel requirements are associated with more advanced disease at diagnosis, inappropriate treatment, a worse prognosis, and a worse quality of life. These results suggest that clinical oncologists should remember the specific travel burden problem for cancer patients, who often need health care services every week or every month for many years.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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 OpenQuestion graph.