Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30869123›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of public health2019

The influence of patient case mix on public health area statistics for cancer stage at diagnosis: a cross-sectional study.

Matthew E Barclay, Gary A Abel, Lucy Elliss-Brookes, David C Greenberg, Georgios Lyratzopoulos

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of public health, 2019. 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
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 38% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
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

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Matthew E BarclayThe Healthcare Improvement Studies (THIS) Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Gary A AbelMedical School (Primary Care), University of Exeter, Exeter,UK.
Lucy Elliss-BrookesNational Cancer Registration and Analysis Service, Public Health England, London, UK.
David C GreenbergNational Cancer Registration and Analysis Service, Public Health England, London, UK.
Georgios LyratzopoulosThe Healthcare Improvement Studies (THIS) Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Public Health England · GBUniversity of Cambridge · GBUniversity of Exeter · GB

Funding

Cancer Research UK 18180
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundstatistics comparing the stage at diagnosis of geographically defined populations of cancer patients are increasingly used in public reporting to monitor geographical inequalities but may be confounded by patient case mix. We explore the impact of case-mix adjustment on a publicly reported measure of early stage at diagnosis in England.

methodsWe analyzed data used for publicly reported statistics about the stage of patients diagnosed with 1 of 11 solid tumours in 2015 in England, including information on cancer site (bladder, breast, colon, rectum, kidney, lung, melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, ovarian, prostate, endometrial), age, gender, income deprivation and population-based commissioning organization. We investigated how cancer site and other patient characteristics influence organizational comparisons and attainment of early-stage targets (≥60% of all cases diagnosed in TNM stages I-II).

resultsAdjusting for patient case mix reduced between-organization variance by more than 50%, resulting in appreciable discordance in organizational ranks (Kendall's tau = 0.53), with 18% (37/207) of organizations being reclassified as meeting/failing the early-stage target due to case mix.

conclusionSummary statistics on stage of cancer diagnosis for geographical populations currently used as public health surveillance tools to monitor organizational inequalities need to account for patient sociodemographic characteristics and cancer site case mix.

Indexed as

Neoplasm StagingPublic HealthRisk AdjustmentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCross-Sectional StudiesEnglandFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRegistriesSocioeconomic Factors

Identifiers

PMID30869123
PMCPMC6896974
OpenAlexW2922513034

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.