ArticleCurrent oncology (Toronto, Ont.)2021
Lung Cancer Pre-Diagnostic Pathways from First Presentation to Specialist Referral.
Article in Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Optimizing Care Pathways from Screening/Detection to Survivorship for Early Age Onset Cancer Patients in Canada.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Article
- Lung cancer care pathways and journeys: insights from patients at the National Cancer Institute in Mexico.BMC global and public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLung cancer is often diagnosed at a late stage with high associated mortality. Timely diagnosis depends on timely referral to a respiratory specialist; however, in Canada, little is known about how patients move through primary care to get to a respiratory specialist. Accordingly, we aimed to identify and describe lung cancer pre-diagnostic pathways in primary care from first presentation to referral.
methodsIn this retrospective cohort study, patients with primary lung cancer were recruited using consecutive sampling (
results68% of the patients followed a pathway where family physician (FP) visits were dominant ("FP-centric") and 32% followed a pathway where walk-in clinic and emergency department (ED) visits were dominant ("ED-centric"). Time to referral in the FP group was double that of the ED group (45 days (IQR: 12-111) vs. 22 (IQR: 5-69)) with more advanced disease (65% vs. 50%). In the FP group, 29% of the patients saw their FP three times or more before being referred and 41% had an ED visit.
conclusionsOur findings may reflect the challenge of diagnosing lung cancer in primary care, missed opportunities for earlier diagnosis, and a lack of integration between primary and specialist care.
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