Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42213260›Full record

ArticleAnnals of surgical oncology2026

The Impact of a Regional Community of Practice to Improve Quality of Melanoma Care: Setting Guidelines for Preoperative Diagnostic Imaging in Early-Stage Melanoma.

Katherine Aw, Rebecca Lau, Boaz Wong, Karine Riad, Alex Lee, Heidi Li, Elysia Grose, Olivier Brandts-Longtin, Ahmad Abed, James Stevenson and 5 more

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Article in Annals of surgical oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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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

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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

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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

15 authors.

Katherine Aw *Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Rebecca Lau *Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Boaz WongFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Karine RiadFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Alex LeeFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Heidi LiFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Elysia GroseFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Olivier Brandts-LongtinFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Ahmad AbedOttawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
James StevensonOttawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Rahat SheikhOttawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Richard ChenOttawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Clara GouletOttawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Stephanie Johnson-ObasekiOttawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Carolyn NessimOttawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada. Cnessim@toh.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMany existing best practice guidelines suggest that preoperative diagnostic imaging for patients who have early-stage melanoma without clinically palpable lymph nodes may not be warranted. A community of practice (CoP) for Eastern Ontario, Canada set guidelines supporting the restricted use of preoperative diagnostic imaging in 2017. This study aimed to assess whether the proportion of patients with ≤T3b melanoma receiving guideline-discordant preoperative imaging decreased after the implementation and dissemination of the CoP guidelines.

methodsRetrospectively collected data of patients with biopsy-proven primary melanoma who underwent wide local excision with or without sentinel lymph node biopsy surgery were included for analysis. Patients with biopsy dates before and after 24 May 2018 were grouped into the pre- and post-guideline cohorts, respectively. Frequency and type of preoperative imaging were collected and analyzed. Patient baseline demographics and tumor histologic characteristics were collected for multivariate analysis.

resultsThe study included 628 patients (332 pre-guideline and 296 post-guideline patients). The patients in the post-guideline cohort had significantly lower rates of preoperative imaging than the pre-guideline cohort (p < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, guideline dissemination was associated with lower odds of receiving preoperative imaging (odds ratio [OR], 0.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.12-0.38; p < 0.001], whereas Breslow thickness was associated with receiving preoperative imaging (OR 1.83; 95% CI 1.43-2.35; p < 0.001).

conclusionThis report describes a reduction in guideline-discordant preoperative imaging after CoP guideline dissemination. The findings support the importance of quality improvement initiatives such as a CoP to advance melanoma care.

Indexed as

Diagnostic ImagingGuideline AdherenceMelanomaPractice Guidelines as TopicPreoperative CareQuality ImprovementSkin NeoplasmsAdultAgedFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm StagingOntarioCommunities of practiceGuidelinesMelanomaPre-operative imagingQuality improvement

Identifiers

PMID42213260

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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.