Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34307912›Full record

ArticleClinical and translational radiation oncology2021

Excessive waitlists and delays to treatment with low-dose-rate brachytherapy predict an increased risk of recurrence and metastases in intermediate-risk prostatic carcinoma.

Rutvij A Khanolkar, Harvey Quon, Kundan Thind, Michael Sia, Michael Roumeliotis, Siraj Husain, Philip McGeachy, Tyler Meyer, Kevin Martell

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical and translational radiation oncology, 2021. 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
0.1field-weighted citation impact, top 49% 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, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Rutvij A KhanolkarDepartment of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Harvey QuonDepartment of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Kundan ThindDepartment of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Michael SiaDepartment of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Michael RoumeliotisDepartment of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Siraj HusainDepartment of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Philip McGeachyDepartment of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Tyler MeyerDepartment of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Kevin MartellDepartment of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
University of Calgary · CAAlberta Health Services · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeIt has previously been shown that increased wait times for prostatectomy are associated with poorer outcomes in intermediate-risk prostatic carcinoma (PCa). However, the impact of wait times on PCa outcomes following low-dose-rate brachytherapy (LDR-BT) are unknown. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We retrospectively reviewed 466 intermediate-risk PCa patients that underwent LDR-BT at a single comprehensive cancer center between 2003 and 2016. Wait times were defined as the time from biopsy to LDR-BT. The association of wait times with outcomes was evaluated using Cox and Fine-Gray regression in both univariate and multivariate models.

resultsMedian (interquartile range) follow-up and wait time for all patients were 8.1 (6.3-10.4) years and 5.1 (3.9-6.9) months, respectively. Among NCCN unfavourable intermediate-risk (UIR) patients (n = 170; 36%), increased wait times predicted both a greater cumulative incidence of recurrence [MHR = 1.01/month of wait time (95% CI: 1.00-1.03); P = 0.044] and metastases [MHR = 1.04/month of wait time (95% CI: 1.02-1.06); P < 0.001] in multivariate modeling. In NCCN favourable intermediate-risk (FIR) patients, there was no significant association between wait time and recurrence or metastases risk. Among all intermediate-risk patients, wait time was associated with an increase in the incidence of metastases [MHR = 1.03/month of wait time (95% CI: 1.02-1.05); P < 0.001], but not recurrence in multivariate models. There was no association between wait time and overall survival in the UIR, FIR, or all intermediate-risk cohorts.

conclusionsResource constraints within this center's public healthcare system have contributed to waitlists exceeding 5-months in length. This study finds that patients with UIR PCa experience a 1% increase in the risk of recurrence and 4% increase in the risk of metastases with each additional month of delay in definitive disease management. Preventing such extended management delays in LDR-BT may improve disease-related outcomes in patients with PCa.

Indexed as

BrachytherapyMetastasesProstate cancerRecurrenceWait times for treatment

Identifiers

PMID34307912
PMCPMC8283023
OpenAlexW3175766884

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.