Wait times and breast cancer survival: a population-based retrospective cohort study using CanIMPACT data.

Rachel Walsh, Aisha Lofters, Patti Groome, Rahim Moineddin, Monika Krzyzanowska, Rebecca Griffiths, Eva Grunfeld

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Cancer causes & control : CCC, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

4citing papers in PubMed

–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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

Primary care continuity and breast cancer survival: a retrospective cohort study.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2026
Article
"There's just such a mismatch": a qualitative exploration of health systems and organizational-level barriers to accessing cancer services among people experiencing structural marginalization.International journal for equity in health · 2025
Article
A Multitask CNN for Near-Infrared Probe: Enhanced Real-Time Breast Cancer Imaging.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
Article
Immediate implant-based breast reconstruction following mastectomy is not associated with delays in adjuvant therapy.Frontiers in oncology · 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

7 authors.

Rachel WalshDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. rachel.walsh@sunnybrook.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-5693-1301

Aisha LoftersDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7322-0894

Patti GroomeQueen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.

Rahim MoineddinDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5506-084X

Monika KrzyzanowskaDepartment of Medical Oncology & Hematology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5533-7418

Rebecca GriffithsICES Queen's, Kingston, ON, Canada.

Eva GrunfeldDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe time from breast cancer surgery to chemotherapy has been shown to affect survival outcomes; however, the effect of time from first breast cancer-related healthcare contact to first cancer specialist consultation, or the time from first breast cancer-related healthcare contact to adjuvant chemotherapy on survival has not been well explored. We aimed to determine whether various wait times along the breast cancer treatment pathway (contact-to-consultation, contact-to-chemotherapy, surgery-to-chemotherapy) were associated with overall survival in women within the Canadian province of Ontario.

methodsWe performed a population-based retrospective cohort study of women diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer in Ontario between 2007 and 2011 who received surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. This was the Ontario cohort of a larger, nationwide study (the Canadian Team to improve Community-Based Cancer Care along the Continuum - CanIMPACT). We used Cox-proportional hazards regression to determine the association between the contact-to-consultation, contact-to-chemotherapy, and surgery-to-chemotherapy intervals and overall survival while adjusting for cancer stage, age, comorbidity, neighborhood income, immigration status, surgery type, and method of cancer detection.

resultsAmong 12,782 breast cancer patients, longer surgery-to-chemotherapy intervals (HR 1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.18 per 30-day increase), but not the contact-to-consultation (HR 0.979, 95% CI 0.95-1.01 per 30-day increase), nor the more comprehensive contact-to-chemotherapy intervals (HR 1.00, 95% CI 0.98-1.02 per 30-day increase) were associated with decreased survival in our adjusted analyses.

conclusionOur findings emphasize the prognostic importance of a shorter surgery-to-chemotherapy interval, whereas the contact-to-consultation and contact-to-chemotherapy intervals have less impact on survival outcomes.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsAdultAgedChemotherapy, AdjuvantCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMiddle AgedOntarioRetrospective StudiesTime-to-TreatmentWaiting ListsAdjuvant chemotherapyBreast neoplasmsReferral and consultationSurvival analysisTime-to-treatment

Identifiers

PMID38748276

DOI10.1093/bjsopen/zrac096

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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.