Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39928902›Full record

ArticleJCO oncology practice2025

If We Build It, Why They Do Not Come? An American College of Surgeons National Quality Improvement Collaborative to Understand Barriers to Completion of Cancer Treatment.

Lauren M Janczewski, Anthony D Yang, Eileen Reilly, Kelley Chan, Tashae Coates, Shayla Scarlett, Susan Hedlund, Rebecca A Snyder, Bruce Haffty, Charles Shelton and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JCO oncology practice, 2025. 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
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  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

11 authors.

Lauren M JanczewskiDepartment of Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.ORCID 0000-0003-2721-3519
Anthony D YangDepartment of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN.
Eileen ReillyAmerican College of Surgeons Cancer Programs, Chicago, IL.ORCID 0009-0002-7280-0827
Kelley ChanAmerican College of Surgeons Cancer Programs, Chicago, IL.ORCID 0009-0006-1579-2428
Tashae CoatesAmerican College of Surgeons Cancer Programs, Chicago, IL.
Shayla ScarlettGeorge Washington University, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC.
Susan HedlundDepartment of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR.
Rebecca A SnyderDepartments of Surgical Oncology & Health Services Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX.ORCID 0000-0002-4355-2185
Bruce HafftyDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ.ORCID 0000-0002-9597-6019
Charles SheltonDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Outer Banks Health, Nags Head, NC.ORCID 0000-0003-3537-8057
Laurie J KirsteinDepartment of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.

Funding

X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHYP30CA008748 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RES · PI Hongbiao Carl Lekaye · 1985 to 2026
$347.4M
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA008748
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeMany patients face barriers to cancer care, leading to disparities in cancer-specific outcomes. Specifically, missing multiple radiation treatments can be associated with increased locoregional recurrence. We sought to assess the frequency and reasons for missed radiotherapy among accredited cancer programs participating in a national quality improvement (QI) collaborative addressing barriers to care.

methodsThe Breaking Barriers National QI Collaborative conducted through the American College of Surgeons Cancer Programs enrolled 342 accredited cancer programs, prospectively recording patients scheduled for a 15-45-day course of radiotherapy over five separate, 60-day data collection periods (March-December 2023). Programs identified those who missed ≥three treatments, referred to as at risk of worse outcomes, and queried reasons for missed radiotherapy. Kruskal-Wallis tests assessed differences in rates of missed treatments.

resultsIn total, 332 programs (97.1%) identified at-risk patients, totaling 5,221 patients who missed ≥three treatments. The median percentage of at-risk patients per program was 9.4% (IQR, 4.5-16.5). Programs located in the Northeast (median, 11.3% [IQR, 5.4-17.3]) had the highest proportion of at-risk patients (

conclusionBarriers to completing radiotherapy are prevalent among accredited cancer programs nationwide. Future work developing interventions in response to identified barriers in this national QI collaborative may be scalable to other areas of cancer care to improve outcomes.

Indexed as

NeoplasmsQuality ImprovementFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedUnited States

Identifiers

PMID39928902
PMCPMC13210055

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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.