Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41647866›Full record

ArticleThe journal of climate change and health

Wildfire disruptions and cancer care: A multi-institutional study of radiotherapy treatment adherence in Northern California.

R A Sabol, C J Walsh, S Densley, Y Medhat, C C Baniel, A Krishna, C T Baiyee, D Meltzer, J Boscardin, A Witztum and 6 more

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Article in The journal of climate change and health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

16 authors.

R A SabolDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
C J WalshUniversity of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA.
S DensleyFlorida Atlantic University College of Medicine, Boca Raton, FL, USA.
Y MedhatUniversity of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA, USA.
C C BanielStanford HealthCare, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
A KrishnaTufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
C T BaiyeeOhio State College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA.
D MeltzerUniversity of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA, USA.
J BoscardinUniversity of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA, USA.
A WitztumDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
N PittsDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
A K PaulssonProvidence Medical Group Northern California, Petaluma, CA, USA.
J Y LuhProvidence St. Joseph Health, Eureka, CA, USA.
L ZalavariStanford HealthCare, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
S S YomDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
K LichterDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Climate-driven disasters such as wildfires are increasing in both severity and frequency, posing serious threats to healthcare infrastructure, continuity of care, and patient well-being. Individuals undergoing cancer treatment are particularly vulnerable, as care often requires frequent and time-sensitive visits over several weeks to specific treatment centers-especially in the case of radiotherapy. However, the impact of climate-related wildfires on radiotherapy treatment adherence remains largely unexplored. Methods: This multi-institutional retrospective cohort analyzed 539,292 radiotherapy treatment appointments from eight clinics in Northern California between 2017-2021 and compared rates of missed visits during active wildfires. Wildfire data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) were used to correlate the proximity of wildfires (within a 50-kilometer [km] radius) to clinics. Missed visit rates were compared between treatment visits that coincided with active wildfires within 50-km and those that did not. Results: Overall, 8.8 % of appointments coincided with wildfires within a 50-km radius, and 4.9 % of these were missed. Wildfire exposure was associated with increased missed appointments (OR = 1.07, 95 % CI [1.02, 1.13], Conclusion: This initial investigation demonstrates a statistically significant trend towards higher non-adherence to radiotherapy visits during wildfires. This is the first multi-institutional study to investigate the impact of wildfires exposure on radiotherapy adherence and to quantify the associated financial impact. Our findings highlight the emerging intersection of climate change and cancer care delivery, emphasizing the need for health system resilience in the face of environmental threats.

Indexed as

Cancer treatmentClimate changeClimate disruptionClimate healthRadiotherapyWildfire

Identifiers

PMID41647866
PMCPMC12851289

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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.