ArticleClinical oncology (Royal College of Radiologists (Great Britain))2016
Wide Variation in the Use of Radiotherapy in the Management of Surgically Treated Rectal Cancer Across the English National Health Service.
Article in Clinical oncology (Royal College of Radiologists (Great Britain)), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07054047 (Improving the Prognostic Accuracy of Staging Rectal Cancer Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging), which is not on this map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Improving the Prognostic Accuracy of Staging Rectal Cancer Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - Detected Tumour Deposits and Vascular Invasion (mrTDV) Instead of Tumour Nodal Metastasis (mrTNM)
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Preoperative short-course radiotherapy (5 × 5 Gy) with delayed surgery versus preoperative long-course radiotherapy for locally resectable rectal cancer: a meta-analysis.International journal of colorectal disease · 2019Pooled it
- A real-world cohort study reveals the treatment paradox of radiotherapy underuse despite its association with survival advantage.Translational cancer research · 2026Article
- The effects of socioeconomic deprivation on colorectal cancer outcomes; a retrospective regional cohort study.International journal of colorectal disease · 2026Article
- Knowledge Translation Interventions to Address Gaps in Rectal Cancer Care.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Radiation-induced changes in gene expression in rectal cancer specimens.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2024Review
- Article
- Article
- What is the impact of hospital and surgeon volumes on outcomes in rectal cancer surgery?Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland · 2023Article
- Cohort profile: radiotherapy dataset (RTDS) in England.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Determinants of Pre-Surgical Treatment in Primary Rectal Cancer: A Population-Based Study.Cancers · 2023Article
- Global colorectal cancer research, 2007-2021: Outputs and funding.International journal of cancer · 2023Article
- Changing patterns of multidisciplinary team treatment, early mortality, and survival in colorectal cancer.BJS open · 2022Article
- Contemporary, national patterns of surgery after preoperative therapy for stage II/III rectal adenocarcinoma.World journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2022Article
- Establishing a colorectal cancer research database from routinely collected health data: the process and potential from a pilot study.BMJ health & care informatics · 2022Article
- Data Resource Profile: The COloRECTal cancer data repository (CORECT-R).International journal of epidemiology · 2021Article
- Vascular calcification and response to neoadjuvant therapy in locally advanced rectal cancer: an exploratory study.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2021Article
- Factors associated with emergency-onset diagnosis, time to treatment and type of treatment in colorectal cancer patients in Norway.BMC cancer · 2021Article
- Intensity-modulated Radiotherapy for Rectal Cancer in the UK in 2020.Clinical oncology (Royal College of Radiologists (Great Britain)) · 2021Article
- Clinical Reality and Treatment for Local Recurrence of Rectal Cancer: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
aimsRadiotherapy is an important treatment modality in the multidisciplinary management of rectal cancer. It is delivered both in the neoadjuvant setting and postoperatively, but, although it reduces local recurrence, it does not influence overall survival and increases the risk of long-term complications. This has led to a variety of international practice patterns. These variations can have a significant effect on commissioning, but also future clinical research. This study explores its use within the large English National Health Service (NHS). MATERIALS AND
methodsInformation on all individuals diagnosed with a surgically treated rectal cancer between April 2009 and December 2010 were extracted from the Radiotherapy Dataset linked to the National Cancer Data Repository. Individuals were grouped into those receiving no radiotherapy, short-course radiotherapy with immediate surgery (SCRT-I), short-course radiotherapy with delayed surgery (SCRT-D), long-course chemoradiotherapy (LCCRT), other radiotherapy (ORT) and postoperative radiotherapy (PORT). Patterns of use were then investigated.
resultsThe study consisted of 9201 individuals; 4585 (49.3%) received some form of radiotherapy. SCRT-I was used in 12.1%, SCRT-D in 1.2%, LCCRT in 29.5%, ORT in 4.7% and PORT in 2.3%. Radiotherapy was used more commonly in men and in those receiving an abdominoperineal excision and less commonly in the elderly and those with comorbidity. Significant and substantial variations were also seen in its use across all the multidisciplinary teams managing this disease.
conclusionDespite the same evidence base, wide variation exists in both the use of and type of radiotherapy delivered in the management of rectal cancer across the English NHS. Prospective population-based collection of local recurrence and patient-reported early and late toxicity information is required to further improve patient selection for preoperative radiotherapy.
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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 OpenQuestion graph.