SynthesisJournal of gastrointestinal cancer2026
The Impact of Early Versus Delayed Chemotherapy on Survival in Patients with Colorectal Cancer after Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of gastrointestinal cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis study systematically evaluates the impact of the initiation time of postoperative chemotherapy on overall survival (OS) in patients with colorectal cancer, providing evidence to guide clinical decisions on chemotherapy timing.
methodsFollowing PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched up to February 2025. Cohort studies comparing early versus delayed postoperative chemotherapy were included. Two researchers independently performed literature screening, data extraction, and quality assessment. Review Manager 5.3 was used, with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) as effect measures. Random- or fixed-effects models were applied based on heterogeneity, and subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted.
resultsEleven studies involving 72,873 patients were included. Pooled results showed that delayed chemotherapy significantly increased the risk of death (HR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.20-1.45, P < 0.00001). Heterogeneity was high (I² = 88%), and sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the findings. Subgroup analysis, using an 8-week cutoff, revealed that patients who initiated chemotherapy within ≤ 8 weeks had significantly better survival than those who started > 8 weeks (HR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.14-1.91, P = 0.003).
conclusionDelayed postoperative chemotherapy markedly increases mortality risk. Initiating adjuvant chemotherapy within 8 weeks after surgery is recommended to achieve optimal survival benefits.
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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.