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Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology logoLink to Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
. 2026 Feb 3;152(2):48. doi: 10.1007/s00432-025-06399-0

Correction: Pain and overall quality of life in palliatively treated colorectal cancer patients 1 year after diagnosis– results from the EDIUM cohort

Sophie Klara Schellack 1, Clara Breidenbach 1, Christoph Kowalski 1, Ulrich Wedding 2, Birgitt van Oorschot 3, Thomas Seufferlein 4, Stefan Benz 5, Martin Schnell 6, Jörg Köninger 7, Christina Klein 8, Johann Ockenga 9, Björn Freitag 10, Uwe A Wittel 11, Roger Wahba 12, Mia Kim 13, Saleem Elhabash 14, Pompiliu Piso 15, Dirk Weyhe 16, Jörg Bunse 17, Maren Riechmann 18, Marco von Strauss 19, Sebastian Petzoldt 20, Philipp-Alexander Neumann 21, Vanessa Kolb 22, Nora Tabea Sibert 1,23,
PMCID: PMC12868541  PMID: 41632296

Correction to: Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology (2025) 151:127 10.1007/s00432-025-06186-x

Following the publication of the article, errors were discovered in Table 2, Figure 2, and Table S2. Additionally, the text in the main body of the article related to the affected areas also requires correction.

In the abstract section of this article, the sentence was incorrectly given as “Higher pain levels persisted at both time points, with no patients reporting absence of pain.” and should have been “Higher pain levels persisted at both time points”

In the Pain and quality of life section of this article, the paragraph was incorrectly given as “Figure 2 shows the development of pain symptoms for T0 and T1 for the items “pain”, “interference with daily activities”, “abdominal pain”, “buttock pain”, and “dysuria”, in Sankey plots. None of the colorectal cancer patients reported having no pain at all at either of the two time points. “Interference with daily activities” showed the highest increase: 44% of colon cancer patients reported having more than a little interference with daily activities due to pain at T0, increasing to 57% at T1. In rectal cancer patients, the interference of pain with their daily activities showed an increase from 32 to 56% at T1 (Fig. 2).” and should have been “Figure 2 shows the development of pain symptoms for T0 and T1 for the items “pain”, “interference with daily activities”, “abdominal pain”, “buttock pain”, and “dysuria”, in Sankey plots. “Interference with daily activities” showed the highest increase: 49.2% of colon cancer patients reported having a little or more than a little interference with daily activities due to pain at T0, increasing to 62.5% at T1. In rectal cancer patients, the interference of pain with their daily activities showed an increase from 39.24% to 61.73% at T1 (Fig. 2).”

In this article, the Figure 2 caption was incorrectly given as 'Sankey diagram for pain items from the EORTC QLQ-CR29 and C30 in colorectal cancer patients at T0 and T1. a, Pain (n = 120); b, interference with daily activities (n = 112); c, abdominal pain (n = 135); d, buttock pain (n = 129); e, dysuria (n = 144). The Sankey diagrams only include colorectal cancer patients who responded to the item at T0 and T1.' but should have been ' Sankey diagram for pain items from the EORTC QLQ-CR29 and C30 in colorectal cancer patients at T0 and T1. a, Pain (n = 147); b, interference with daily activities (n = 140); c, abdominal pain (n = 147); d, buttock pain (n = 145); e, dysuria (n = 145). The Sankey diagrams only include colorectal cancer patients who responded to the item at T0 and T1'.

In the Pain and quality of life section of this article, the paragraph was incorrectly given as “Overall, these results highlight the symptomatic burden of pain that palliatively treated colorectal cancer patients face before and 12 months after the initiation of treatment. No patients reported that they were free of pain at either T0 or T1. Pain at T0 predicted survival at T1, but the results need to be interpreted with caution due to the smallness of the sample and the lack of potential confounding variables. It also remains unclear whether the reported pain is caused by cancer symptoms, treatment, or other comorbidities.” and should have been “Overall, these results highlight the symptomatic burden of pain that palliatively treated colorectal cancer patients face before and 12 months after the initiation of treatment. Pain at T0 predicted survival at T1, but the results need to be interpreted with caution due to the smallness of the sample and the lack of potential confounding variables. It also remains unclear whether the reported pain is caused by cancer symptoms, treatment, or other comorbidities.”

The wrong Supplementary file 2 was originally published with this article; it has now been replaced with the correct file.

In Table 2 of this article, the data in the column headed To & T1 were incorrectly published. For completeness and transparency, the old incorrect version and the corrected version of Table 2 are displayed below.

Table 2.

EORTC QLQ-C30 and -CR29: quality of life and pain levels at T0 and T1. The pain score consists of the two items “Interference with daily activities, last week” and “Pain, last week”. The quality of life score consists of the two items “global health status” and “overall quality of life”. The scores for abdominal pain, buttock pain, and dysuria are converted from the corresponding items. A higher value for the pain scores indicates more severe pain, and a higher value for the quality of life score indicates a better quality of life status (both ranging from 0 to 100)

Colon cancer patients (n = 66) Rectal cancer patients (n = 81)
T0 T1 T0 T1
Quality of life1,* 51 (25) 56 (22) 52 (24) 51 (22)
 Unknown 0 0 1 0
Pain1,* 34 (33) 35 (32) 26 (32) 35 (32)
 Unknown 0 0 0 0
Pain, last week2
 Not at all 23 (34.85%) 25 (37.88%) 42 (51.85%) 29 (35.80%)
 A little 20 (30.30%) 20 (30.30%) 17 (20.99%) 29 (35.80%)
 Quite a bit 14 (21.21%) 15 (22.73%) 16 (19.75%) 15 (18.52%)
 Very much 9 (13.64%) 6 (9.09%) 6 (7.41%) 8 (9.88%)
 Unknown 0 0 0 0
Interference with daily activities, last week2
 Not at all 32 (50.79%) 24 (37.50%) 48 (60.76%) 31 (38.27%)
 A little 11 (17.46%) 18 (28.13%) 12 (15.19%) 26 (32.10%)
 Quite a bit 14 (22.22%) 13 (20.31%) 11 (13.92%) 13 (16.05%)
 Very much 6 (9.52%) 9 (14.06%) 8 (10.13%) 11 (13.58%)
 Unknown 3 2 2 0
Abdominal pain1,* 33 (34) 29 (30) 21 (28) 18 (24)
 Unknown 0 0 0 0
Abdominal pain, last week2
 Not at all 27 (40.91%) 28 (42.42%) 46 (56.79%) 46 (56.79%)
 A little 20 (30.30%) 21 (31.82%) 21 (25.93%) 27 (33.33%)
 Quite a bit 12 (18.18%) 14 (21.21%) 12 (14.81%) 7 (8.64%)
 Very much 7 (10.61%) 3 (4.55%) 2 (2.47%) 1 (1.23%)
 Unknown 0 0 0 0
Buttock pain 1, * 10 (23) 19 (28) 33 (36) 24 (32)
 Unknown 1 0 1 0
Buttock pain, last week2
 Not at all 52 (80%) 41 (62.12%) 38 (47.50%) 47 (58.02%)
 A little 7 (10.77%) 14 (21.21%) 15 (18.75%) 14 (17.28%)
 Quite a bit 5 (7.69%) 9 (13.64%) 18 (22.50%) 16 (19.75%)
 Very much 1 (1.54%) 2 (3.03%) 9 (11.25%) 4 (4.94%)
 Unknown 1 0 1 0
Dysuria 1, * 4 (13) 4 (12) 4 (13) 8 (19)
 Unknown 1 0 0 1
Dysuria, last week2
 Not at all 58 (89.23%) 59 (89.39%) 73 (90.12%) 66 (82.50%)
 A little 6 (9.23%) 6 (9.09%) 6 (7.41%) 10 (12.50%)
 Quite a bit 1 (1.54%) 1 (1.52%) 2 (2.47%) 3 (3.75%)
 Very much 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (1.25%)
 Unknown 1 0 0 1

1Mean (SD); 2n (%); * converted score

Incorrect Table:

Table 2.

EORTC QLQ-C30 and -CR29: quality of life and pain levelsat T0 and T1. The pain score consists of the two items “interferencewith daily activities, last week” and “pain, last week”. The quality oflife score consists of the two items “global health status” and “overallquality of life. The scores for abdominal pain, buttock pain, and dysuriaare converted from the corresponding items. A higher value forthe pain scores indicates more severe pain, and a higher value for thequality of life score indicates a better quality of life status (both rangingfrom 0 to 100)

Colon cancer patients (n = 66) Rectal cancer patients (n = 81)
T0 T1 T0 T1
Quality of life1,* 51 (25) 56 (22) 52 (24) 51 (22)
 Unknown 0 1
Pain1,* 34 (33) 35 (32) 26 (32) 35 (32)
Pain, last week2
 Not at all 0 0 0 0
 A little 23 (40%) 25 (42%) 42 (56%) 29 (40%)
 Quite a bit 20 (35%) 20 (33%) 17 (23%) 29 (40%)
 Very much 14 (25%) 15 (25%) 16 (21%) 15 (21%)
Unknown 9 6 6 8
Interference with daily activities, last week2
 Not at all 0 0 0 0
 A little 32 (56%) 24 (44%) 48 (68%) 31 (44%)
 Quite a bit 11 (19%) 18 (33%) 12 (17%) 26 (37%)
 Very much 14 (25%) 13 (24%) 11 (15%) 13 (9%)
Unknown 9 11 10 11
Abdominal pain1,* 33 (34) 29 (30) 21 (28) 18 (24)
Abdominal pain, last week2
 Not at all 0 0 0 0
 A little 27 (46%) 28 (44%) 46 (58%) 46 (58%)
 Quite a bit 20 (34%) 21 (33%) 21 (27%) 27 (34%)
 Very much 12 (20%) 14 (22%) 12 (15%) 7 (8.8%)
Unknown 7 3 2 1
Buttock pain1,* 10 (23) 19 (28) 33 (36) 24 (32)
Unknown 1 0 1 0
Buttock pain, last week2
 Not at all 0 0 0 0
 A little 52 (81%) 41 (64%) 38 (54%) 47 (62%)
 Quite a bit 7 (11%) 14 (22%) 15 (21%) 14 (18%)
 Very much 5 (7.8%) 9 (14%) 18 (25%) 16 (21%)
 Unknown 2 2 10 4
Dysuria1,* 4 (13) 4 (12) 4 (13) 8 (19)
 Unknown 1 0 0 1
Dysuria, last week2
 Not at all 0 0 0 0
 A little 58 (89%) 59 (89%) 73 (90%) 66 (84%)
 Quite a bit 6 (9.2%) 6 (9.1%) 6 (7.4%) 10 (13%)
 Very much 1 (1.5%) 1 (1.5%) 2 (2.5%) 3 (3.8%)
 Unknown 1 0 0 2

1Mean (SD); 2n (%); * converted score

Corrected Table:

In this article, Fig. 2 appeared incorrectly and has now been corrected in the original publication. For completeness and transparency, the old incorrect version and the corrected version of Fig. 2 are displayed below.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

Sankey diagram for pain items from the EORTC QLQ-CR29 and C30 in colorectal cancer patients at T0 and T1. a, Pain (n = 147); b, interference with daily activities (n = 140); c, abdominal pain (n = 147); d, buttock pain (n = 145); e, dysuria (n = 145). The Sankey diagrams only include colorectal cancer patients who responded to the item at T0 and T1

Incorrect version of Fig. 2:

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

Sankey diagram for pain items from the EORTC QLQ-CR29 and C30 in colorectal cancer patients at T0 and T1. a, Pain (n = 120); b, interference with daily activities (n = 112); c, abdominal pain (n = 135); d, buttock pain (n = 129); e, dysuria (n = 144). The Sankey diagrams only include colorectal cancer patients who responded to the item at T0 and T1.

Corrected version of Fig. 2:

The original article has been updated.

Supplementary Information

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Supplementary Material 1 (18.2KB, docx)

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