Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34043432›Full record

ArticleJCO clinical cancer informatics2021

Treatment and Monitoring Variability in US Metastatic Breast Cancer Care.

Jennifer L Caswell-Jin, Alison Callahan, Natasha Purington, Summer S Han, Haruka Itakura, Esther M John, Douglas W Blayney, George W Sledge, Nigam H Shah, Allison W Kurian

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JCO clinical cancer informatics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 16% 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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  3. A Darwinian Perspective on Tumor Evolution.International journal of biological sciences · 2026
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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

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jennifer L Caswell-JinDepartment of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.ORCID 0000-0002-5711-8355
Alison CallahanDepartment of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.ORCID 0000-0001-5163-380X
Natasha PuringtonDepartment of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.ORCID 0000-0002-4936-5540
Summer S HanDepartment of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.ORCID 0000-0002-2013-6883
Haruka ItakuraDepartment of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.
Esther M JohnDepartment of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.
Douglas W BlayneyDepartment of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.ORCID 0000-0002-7931-4533
George W SledgeDepartment of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.ORCID 0000-0003-0297-0775
Nigam H ShahDepartment of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.
Allison W KurianDepartment of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.ORCID 0000-0002-6175-9470
Stanford University · US

Funding

Integrative subtyping to improve therapeutic options for metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancerK08CA252457 · NCI · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI CASWELL-JIN, JENNIFER · 2020 to 2024
$1.1M
NCI NIH HHS K08 CA252457
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTreatment and monitoring options for patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are increasing, but little is known about variability in care. We sought to improve understanding of MBC care and its correlates by analyzing real-world claims data using a search engine with a novel query language to enable temporal electronic phenotyping.

methodsUsing the Advanced Cohort Engine, we identified 6,180 women who met criteria for having estrogen receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative MBC from IBM MarketScan US insurance claims (2007-2014). We characterized treatment, monitoring, and hospice usage, along with clinical and nonclinical factors affecting care.

resultsWe observed wide variability in treatment modality and monitoring across patients and geography. Most women received first-recorded therapy with endocrine (67%) versus chemotherapy, underwent more computed tomography (CT) (76%) than positron emission tomography-CT, and were monitored using tumor markers (58%). Nearly half (46%) met criteria for aggressive disease, which were associated with receiving chemotherapy first, monitoring primarily with CT, and more frequent imaging. Older age was associated with endocrine therapy first, less frequent imaging, and less use of tumor markers. After controlling for clinical factors, care strategies varied significantly by nonclinical factors (median regional income with first-recorded therapy and imaging type, geographic region with these and with imaging frequency and use of tumor markers;

conclusionVariability in US MBC care is explained by patient and disease factors and by nonclinical factors such as geographic region, suggesting that treatment decisions are influenced by local practice patterns and/or resources. A search engine designed to express complex electronic phenotypes from longitudinal patient records enables the identification of variability in patient care, helping to define disparities and areas for improvement.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsAgedAntineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsBiomarkers, TumorCohort StudiesErb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine KinasesFemaleHumansBiomarkers, TumorErb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases

Identifiers

PMID34043432
PMCPMC8462601
OpenAlexW3165114271

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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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.