SynthesisOtolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery2024
Delays Starting Postoperative Radiotherapy Among Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Treatment package time (TPT) and surgery to post-operative radiotherapy (S-PORT) interval in head and neck cancers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Pooled it
- Delayed Postoperative Radiotherapy in Head & Neck Cancers-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The Laryngoscope · 2025Pooled it
- Factors Associated with Head and Neck Cancer Postoperative Radiotherapy Delays: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2024Pooled it
- Mechanisms Underlying an Enhanced Navigation-Based Intervention to Improve Timely Adjuvant Therapy: A Secondary Analysis of the NDURE Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery · 2026Trial
- Randomized Trial of Enhanced Versus Standard Navigation to Promote Timely Initiation of Adjuvant Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer.JCO oncology practice · 2025Trial
- Effects of NDURE on Timely Adjuvant Radiotherapy in HNSCC: Subgroup Analysis of an RCT.The Laryngoscope · 2026Article
- A Discharge Summary Prompt Reduces Postoperative Radiotherapy Delay in Head and Neck Cancer Patients.Head & neck · 2026Article
- Barriers and Timely Postoperative Radiation Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer.JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery · 2025Article
- Comment on: "Prognostic Significance of Surgery-to-Postoperative Radiation Therapy Interval (S-PORT) and Total Treatment Package Time (TPT) in HNSCC".European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Article
- Changing What Can Be Changed: Validating Navigation as Essential Care in Modern Oncology.JCO oncology practice · 2025Article
- Author Reply to Letter by Topkan et al Regarding Delays in Starting Postoperative Radiotherapy.Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2024Article
- Stress, inflammation, and resilience among patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma undergoing multimodal therapy: Current knowledge and future directions.Tzu chi medical journalReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveInitiating postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) within 6 weeks (42 days) of surgery is the first and only Commission on Cancer (CoC) approved quality metric for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). No study has systematically reviewed nor synthesized the literature to establish national benchmarks for delays in starting PORT. DATA SOURCES: Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines, we performed a systematic review of PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL. REVIEW
methodsStudies that described time-to-PORT or PORT delays in patients with HNSCC treated in the United States after 2003 were included. Meta-analysis of proportions and continuous measures was performed on nonoverlapping datasets to examine the pooled frequency of PORT delays and time-to-PORT.
resultsThirty-six studies were included in the systematic review and 14 in the meta-analysis. Most studies utilized single-institution (n = 17; 47.2%) or cancer registry (n = 16; 44.4%) data. Twenty-five studies (69.4%) defined PORT delay as >6 weeks after surgery (the definition utilized by the CoC and National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines), whereas 4 (11.1%) defined PORT delay as a time interval other than >6 weeks, and 7 (19.4%) characterized time-to-PORT without defining delay. Meta-analysis revealed that 48.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 41.4-55.9) of patients started PORT > 6 weeks after surgery. Median and mean time-to-PORT were 45.8 (95% CI, 42.4-51.4 days) and 47.4 days (95% CI, 43.4-51.4 days), respectively.
conclusionDelays in initiating guideline-adherent PORT occur in approximately half of patients with HNSCC. These meta-analytic data can be used to set national benchmarks and assess progress in reducing delays.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.