Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38087040›Full record

ArticleBritish journal of cancer2024

Treatment interval in curative treatment of colon cancer, does it impact (cancer free) survival? A non-inferiority analysis.

Maud T A Strous, Charlotte J L Molenaar, Ruud F W Franssen, Frits van Osch, Eric Belgers, Johanne G Bloemen, Gerrit D Slooter, Jarno Melenhorst, Jeroen Heemskerk, Adriaan P de Bruïne and 2 more

Abstract readEquivalence TrialMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in British journal of cancer, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Multimodal Prehabilitation in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Surgery: A Feasibility Study.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025
    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

12 authors.

Maud T A StrousDepartment of Surgery, VieCuri Medical Centre, Venlo, The Netherlands. m.strous@maastrichtuniversity.nl.ORCID 0000-0001-7116-4465
Charlotte J L MolenaarDepartment of Surgery, Maxima Medical Centre, Veldhoven, The Netherlands.
Ruud F W FranssenDepartment of Epidemiology, GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Frits van OschDepartment of Epidemiology, VieCuri Medical Centre, Venlo, the Netherlands.
Eric BelgersDepartment of Surgery, Zuyderland Hospital, Heerlen, The Netherlands.
Johanne G BloemenDepartment of Surgery, Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Gerrit D SlooterDepartment of Surgery, Maxima Medical Centre, Veldhoven, The Netherlands.
Jarno MelenhorstDepartment of Epidemiology, GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Jeroen HeemskerkDepartment of Surgery, Laurentius Hospital, Roermond, The Netherlands.
Adriaan P de BruïneDepartment of Pathology, VieCuri Medical Centre, Venlo, The Netherlands.
Maryska L G Janssen-HeijnenDepartment of Epidemiology, GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
F Jeroen VogelaarDepartment of Surgery, VieCuri Medical Centre, Venlo, The Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn treatment of colon cancer, strict waiting-time targets are enforced, leaving professionals no room to lengthen treatment intervals when advisable, for instance to optimise a patient's health status by means of prehabilitation. Good quality studies supporting these targets are lacking. With this study we aim to establish whether a prolonged treatment interval is associated with a clinically relevant deterioration in overall and cancer free survival.

methodsThis retrospective multicenter non-inferiority study includes all consecutive patients who underwent elective oncological resection of a biopsy-proven primary non-metastatic colon carcinoma between 2010 and 2016 in six hospitals in the Southern Netherlands. Treatment interval was defined as time between diagnosis and surgical treatment. Cut-off points for treatment interval were ≤35 days and ≤49 days.

findings3376 patients were included. Cancer recurred in 505 patients (15.0%) For cancer free survival, a treatment interval >35 days and >49 days was non-inferior to a treatment interval ≤35 days. Results for overall survival were inconclusive, but no association was found.

conclusionFor cancer free survival, a prolonged treatment interval, even over 49 days, is non-inferior to the currently set waiting-time target of ≤35 days. Therefore, the waiting-time targets set as fundamental objective in current treatment guidelines should become directional instead of strict targets.

Indexed as

Colonic NeoplasmsNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalHumansNetherlandsRetrospective Studies

Identifiers

PMID38087040
PMCPMC10803312

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.