Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42108400›Full record

ArticleHead & neck2026

Health System Factors in Head and Neck Cancer Diagnosis: A HEADSpAcE Consortium Qualitative Study in Glasgow and Montevideo.

Grant Creaney, Iván Lyra González, Mauricio Cuello, Mariél de Aquino Goulart, Alex D McMahon, Claire Paterson, James McCaul, Maja Popovic, Lorenzo Richiardi, Silvia Lopez de Blanc and 8 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Head & neck, 2026. 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
–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

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

18 authors.

Grant CreaneySchool of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9972-7629
Iván Lyra GonzálezService of Oncology, Manuel Quintela Hospital, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Mauricio CuelloService of Oncology, Manuel Quintela Hospital, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Mariél de Aquino GoulartGlasgow Head and Neck Cancer (GLAHNC) Research Group, Glasgow, UK.
Alex D McMahonSchool of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Claire PatersonGlasgow Head and Neck Cancer (GLAHNC) Research Group, Glasgow, UK.
James McCaulQueen Elizabeth University Hospital, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Glasgow, UK.
Maja PopovicCancer Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, and CPO-Piemonte, Turin, Italy.
Lorenzo RichiardiCancer Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, and CPO-Piemonte, Turin, Italy.
Silvia Lopez de BlancFacultad de Odontología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Cordoba, Argentina.
Maria Paula CuradoA. C. Camargo Centre, Sao Paulo, Brazil.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8172-2483
Marta VilenskyUniversidad De Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
HEADSpAcE ConsortiumInternational Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Genomic Epidemiology Branch, Lyon, France.
Shaymaa AlwaheidiInternational Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Genomic Epidemiology Branch, Lyon, France.
Paul BrennanInternational Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Genomic Epidemiology Branch, Lyon, France.
Shama ViraniInternational Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Genomic Epidemiology Branch, Lyon, France.
Al RossSchool of Health, Education, Policing and Sciences, University of Staffordshire, Stafford, UK.
David I ConwaySchool of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7762-4063

Funding

EU Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 825771
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHead and neck cancer (HNC) is a devastating diagnosis, with advanced-stage disease leading to poorer outcomes. This qualitative study aimed to identify health system factors associated with stage of HNC diagnosis.

methodsQualitative semistructured interviews with HNC patients and clinicians were undertaken in two purposively selected regional cancer centers in Scotland and Uruguay. Transcripts were analyzed thematically via Template Analysis, utilizing conventional cancer diagnostic intervals and a systems engineering model of how patient and organizational outcomes emerge from complex interactions.

resultsSixteen health system themes and 45 subthemes were identified from 29 interviews. Themes important for timely diagnosis included: public awareness of risk/symptoms; patient ability to access and navigate through HNC pathways; socioeconomic/geographic inequalities; and ways of working between healthcare teams.

conclusionsHealth system factors associated with diagnostic stage were identified across centers and participant groups that could inform service changes to support earlier stage diagnosis of HNC.

Indexed as

Head and Neck NeoplasmsAgedFemaleHealth Services AccessibilityHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedQualitative ResearchScotlandUruguayhead and neck cancerhealth systemsqualitative methods

Identifiers

PMID42108400
PMCPMC13595473

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.