ArticleThe oncologist2025
Geographic disparities in gastrointestinal oncology research: a focus on trial availability in Italy.
Article in The oncologist, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGastrointestinal cancers pose a significant global health burden, bearing as they do high incidence and mortality rates. Clinical trials in oncology offer numerous advantages as helping to develop new treatments and improve existing ones, leading to better patient outcomes, providing patients with access to cutting-edge therapies that might not otherwise be available and enhancing our understanding of cancer biology.
methodsWe retrospectively reviewed active interventional clinical trials in Italy in the field of gastrointestinal neoplasms in the period March 1, 2020 and March 1, 2024, by a search on the "clincaltrials.gov" database. The search yielded 103 studies active in Italy. For each study, the Centers in Italy at which they are active were extracted. Studies resulted active in a total of 630 locations.
resultsThe data analysis, by a kernel smoothing for probability density estimation, reveals a pronounced clustering of trials in Northern and Central Italy, while the Southern regions and islands exhibit lower trial availability, highlighting disparities in patient access. The mean number of clinical trials per 100 000 inhabitants was calculated. We found that Northern regions show a much higher concentration compared with the Southern regions and islands (North-east 0.92 CTs/100 000 inhabitants vs Islands 0.53 CTs/100 000 inhabitants).
conclusionsThe uneven distribution does not only limit treatment options for patients in less accessible areas but also raises concerns about the representativeness of trial data. This study underscores the need for targeted strategies to enhance trial accessibility, including decentralized trial models and national databases, to ensure equitable patient participation across Italy.
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