ArticleCancers2020
The Perceived Impact of Length of the Diagnostic Pathway Is Associated with Health-Related Quality of Life of Sarcoma Survivors: Results from the Dutch Nationwide SURVSARC Study.
Article in Cancers, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Patients' experiences of the path to sarcoma diagnosis: a qualitative systematic review and thematic synthesis.BMJ open · 2026Pooled it
- Patient and Tumor Factors Influencing Diagnostic Trajectories in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor Patients and Their Impact on Health-Related Quality of Life: A Dutch Multicenter Study.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Observational
- Assessing the impact of timely diagnosis on psychological outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients: A scoping review.PloS one · 2026Article
- Patients' Experiences of a Sarcoma Diagnosis: A Process Mapping Exercise of Diagnostic Pathways.Cancers · 2023Article
- Measuring Clinical, Biological, and Behavioral Variables to Elucidate Trajectories of Patient-Reported Outcomes: The PROFILES Registry.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2022Article
- The Prolonged Diagnostic Pathway of Young Adults (Aged 25-39) with Cancer in the United Kingdom: Results from the Young Adult Cancer Patient Journey Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors: New Treatment Approaches.Cancers · 2021Article
- The age-related impact of surviving sarcoma on health-related quality of life: data from the SURVSARC study.ESMO open · 2021Article
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11 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundSarcoma patients often experience a long time to diagnosis, known as the total interval. This interval can be divided into the patient (time from symptoms to doctor consultation) and diagnostic intervals (time from first consultation to diagnosis). In other cancers, a long total interval has been associated with worse outcomes, but its effect on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has never been investigated among sarcoma patients. This study investigates the association between (1) the actual time to diagnosis and HRQoL; (2) the perceived impact of the diagnostic interval length and HRQoL; (3) the actual length and perceived impact of the length and the HRQoL of sarcoma survivors.
methodsA cross-sectional study was performed among sarcoma patients aged ≥18, diagnosed 2-10 years ago in the Netherlands. The participants completed a questionnaire on HRQoL, the time to diagnosis, the perceived impact of the diagnostic interval on HRQoL, and coping.
results1099 participants were included (response rate, 58%). The mean time since diagnosis was 67.4 months. More than half reported a patient (60%) or diagnostic interval (55%) ≥1 month. A third (31%) perceived a negative impact of the diagnostic interval length on HRQoL. Patient or diagnostic interval length was not associated with HRQoL. By contrast, participants perceiving a negative impact (32%) had lower HRQoL scores than those perceiving a positive (11%) or no impact (58%) (
conclusionThe perceived impact of the diagnostic interval length was associated with the HRQoL of sarcoma survivors, whereas the actual length was not associated with HRQoL. Maladaptive coping strategies were independently associated with HRQoL. This offers opportunities for early intervention to improve HRQoL.
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