SynthesisBMC cancer2022
The pathway and characteristics of patients with non-specific symptoms of cancer: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC cancer, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Why aren't they used? Systematic review of barriers to implementation of clinical decision support systems for early cancer detection in primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Pooled it
- Symptoms experienced during the first 4 months of chemotherapy administration: a longitudinal cohort study in an Australian cancer treatment unit.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Diagnostic pathways for lung cancer patients in Denmark: General practice events, first referral and stage at diagnosis.Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden) · 2026Article
- Implementing Systematic Assessment of Physical Function in Hospitalised Medical Patients: Description and Evaluation Guided By the Quality Implementation Framework.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2026Article
- Early Needs Assessment in Patients With Non-Specific Symptoms of Cancer: An Explorative Study.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026Article
- Plasma protein profiling predicts cancer in patients with non-specific symptoms.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Article
- Electrochemical biosensing in oncology: a review advancements and prospects for cancer diagnosis.Cancer biology & therapy · 2025Review
- Psychological distress in newly diagnosed patients with gastrointestinal cancer: A scoping review.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing · 2025Review
- Exploring functioning and health-related quality of life in patients referred to a diagnostic cancer pathway for non-specific serious symptoms.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Doing 'detective work' to find a cancer: how are non-specific symptom pathways for cancer investigation organised, and what are the implications for safety and quality of care? A multisite qualitative approach.BMJ quality & safety · 2025Article
- Plasma H3Cit-DNA Discriminates Between Cancer and Inflammation in a Cohort of Patients with Unspecific Cancer Symptoms.Inflammation · 2025Article
- Multimodal cell-free DNA whole-genome TAPS is sensitive and reveals specific cancer signals.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Article
- Diagnostic flow for all patients referred with non-specific symptoms of cancer to a diagnostic centre in Denmark: A descriptive study.The European journal of general practice · 2024Article
- Risk of cancer and serious disease in Danish patients with urgent referral for serious non-specific symptoms and signs of cancer in Funen 2014-2021.British journal of cancer · 2024Article
- Patients from general practice with non-specific cancer symptoms: a retrospective study of symptoms and imaging.BJGP open · 2024Article
- Gastric cancer with enhanced myogenesis is associated with less cell proliferation, enriched epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and angiogenesis, and poor clinical outcomes.American journal of cancer research · 2024Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNon-specific symptoms are common and often sign of a non-serious disease. Because of this, patients with non-specific symptoms of cancer (NSSC) present a challenge for general practitioners (GP). Studies describing characteristics of patients with NSSC have been done after fast-track pathways were created to diagnose and treat patients with NSSC. This study reviews characteristics of patients with NSSC and their patient pathways. MATERIALS AND
methodsDatabase searches of Embase, Cochrane, PubMed, Cinahl and Web of Science were performed. Search terms used were cancer, patient pathway, and NSSC with their synonyms. The flow diagram Preferring Reporting Items for Systematic Review was applied to the systematic search. The Newcastle-Ottawa Assessment Scale (NOS) was used to compare the quality of the included studies.
resultsTwelve studies met the inclusion criterias. All studies were considered to be of high methodological quality. Patient Pathway: 11-35% of patients were diagnosed with cancer. Median number of days through diagnostic process was 7-10. PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: The most prevalent cancers included hematological-(14-30%), gastrointestinal-(13-23%) and lung cancers (13%). Rheumatological, musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal diseases were among the most common non-malignant diseases diagnosed. Weight loss, fatigue, pain and loss of appetite were the most common symptoms. Cardiovascular diseases, lung diseases, diabetes and previous diagnosed cancer were the most common comorbidities. Mean age of included patients was 60-72 years.
conclusionLimited number of studies were found and they lacked sufficient heterogenic data to conduct a metaanalysis. Symptoms, diagnoses, age and gender were described with some heterogenic results. Further studies should be conducted to gather broader knowledge about patients with NSSC.
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