Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39975727›Full record

ArticleJournal of thoracic disease2025

Continued implications of the COVID-19 pandemic environment on non-small cell lung cancer characteristics and treatment in the United States.

Christina M Stuart, Nicole M Mott, Michael R Bronsert, Adam R Dyas, Salvador Rodriguez Franco, Ana L Gleisner, Simran K Randhawa, Elizabeth A David, John D Mitchell, Robert A Meguid

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of thoracic disease, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. 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

10 authors.

Christina M StuartUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9851-8486
Nicole M MottUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Michael R BronsertUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Adam R DyasUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Salvador Rodriguez FrancoUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Ana L GleisnerUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Simran K RandhawaUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Elizabeth A DavidUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
John D MitchellUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
Robert A MeguidUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Given the continued disruption of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic throughout 2021, we aimed to assess for continued implications of the altered healthcare landscape on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) presentation and treatment in the second year of the pandemic. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using the United States National Cancer Database (2019-2021). Demographic, cancer-related, and treatment variables were compared between patients diagnosed in the pre-pandemic year [2019], pandemic-year-one [2020], and pandemic-year-two [2021]. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to control for the impact of demographics on oncologic variables, and then for the impact of oncologic variables on treatment modalities and outcomes. Results: Of 376,193 NSCLC cases, 135,649 (36.1%) were pre-pandemic, 119,338 (31.7%) were pandemic-year-one, and 121,206 (32.2%) were pandemic-year-two. Compared to the pre-pandemic year, patients diagnosed in pandemic-year-two had risk-adjusted increases in clinical T stage [odds ratio (OR) =1.017; 95% confidence-interval (CI): 1.003-1.031], N stage (OR =1.048; 95% CI: 1.033-1.063), M stage (OR =1.044; 95% CI: 1.028-1.060), and overall stage (OR =1.038; 95% CI: 1.023-1.052). Additionally, compared to the pre-pandemic year, patients diagnosed in pandemic-year-two continue to see risk-adjusted increases in time from diagnosis to staging (OR =1.044; 95% CI: 1.017-1.072), to first treatment (OR =1.143; 95% CI: 1.133-1.154), to surgery (OR =1.117; 95% CI: 1.093-1.141) and to systemic therapy (OR =1.021; 95% CI: 1.924-1.039). Conclusions: Compared to the pre-pandemic year, patients diagnosed with NSCLC in the United States during pandemic-year-two continue to present at later clinical stage and experience delays to treatment. The oncologic and treatment characteristics of NSCLC have not returned to pre-pandemic baseline in the United States, possibly due to compounding delays to diagnosis and treatment and a growing back log of cases.

Indexed as

coronaviruscoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)pandemic

Identifiers

PMID39975727
PMCPMC11833559

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.