Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41647882›Full record

ReviewThe Lancet regional health. Western Pacific2026

Measuring cancer equity globally: harmonising international rural-urban classifications for exploring cancer outcomes.

Charlene Wright, Sharina Riva, Megan Crichton, Helena Rodi, Hannah Jongebloed, Lucy Leigh, Elizabeth A Johnston, Rebecca J Bergin, Anna Chapman, Laura Alston and 8 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific, 2026. 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. Review
  3. Review
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

18 authors.

Charlene WrightCentre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.
Sharina RivaCentre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.
Megan CrichtonCancer and Palliative Outcomes Centre, School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia.
Helena RodiCentre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.
Hannah JongebloedCentre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.
Lucy LeighHunter Medical Research Institute, New South Wales, Australia.
Elizabeth A JohnstonViertel Cancer Research Centre, Cancer Council Queensland, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Rebecca J BerginCentre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.
Anna ChapmanCentre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.
Laura AlstonDeakin Rural Health, Deakin University, Australia.
Fiona Crawford-WilliamsCaring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, South Australia, Australia.
Nicolas H HartCancer and Palliative Outcomes Centre, School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia.
Joel RheeDiscipline of General Practice, School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia.
Lan GaoDeakin Health Economics, Institute for Health Transformation, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.
Kate GunnIIMPACT in Health, Department of Rural Health, Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Harry GasperCoastal Cancer Care, Suite 9, Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital, Birtinya, Queensland, Australia.
Anna UgaldeCentre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.
Skye MarshallCentre for Quality and Patient Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Geographic disparities in cancer outcomes represent a critical health equity challenge, with rural populations consistently experiencing poorer outcomes than urban populations. The lack of harmonised rurality measures creates substantial barriers to evidence synthesis and has precluded meta-analyses. This perspectives paper discusses concepts of rurality, identifies rurality classification systems used by cancer researchers in OECD countries that can be harmonised with the OECD Extended Typology, and develops recommendations for consistent rural-urban coding. Targeted searches of grey and published literature on cancer policy and rurality classification systems were conducted. The secondary analysis examined studies identified through systematic database searching of OVID Medline, Elsevier Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science. From 289 studies across 22 OECD countries, twenty-seven rurality classification systems were identified, with eleven systems harmonised to create the Rural-Urban Classification System Harmonisation Framework featuring a consistent five-point rurality scale and standardised urban-rural dichotomisation. Implementation recommendations address system selection, standardised categorisation, and reporting standards. Adopting this harmonisation framework will improve research comparability and strengthen evidence to inform equitable cancer policies. Funding: Commonwealth of Australia's Medical Research Future Fund (MRF2030313).

Indexed as

Cancer survivorsEpidemiologic factorsEpidemiologic methodsEpidemiologic studiesEpidemiologyHealth care quality, access, and evaluationHealth inequitiesNeoplasmsRural healthRural population

Identifiers

PMID41647882
PMCPMC12869288

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.