. 2022 Oct 20;19(10):e1004110. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004110

Table 1. Meta-analysis results from studies reporting on the patient interval (PI).

		PI All studies					PI Studies from high-income countries					PI Studies from lower-income countries					PI Difference
Body location/system	Cancer site	k	N	med	LLCI	ULCI	k	N	med	LLCI	ULCI	k	N	med	LLCI	ULCI	Diff	LLCI	ULCI	p
Breast	All breast^*	93	24,957	43	34	59	26	6,911	32	24	45	67	18,046	58	35	92	25	7	61	0.002
	Breast not PA-associated	87	24,812	42	34	55	22	6,789	29	19	45	65	18,014	50	34	90	24	8	61	0.002
	Breast PA-associated	6	145	61	32	195	4	113	48	30	61	2	32	196	109	282	144	48	252	0.100
Digestive/gastrointestinal	All digestive/gastrointestinal	50	12,729	29	22	31	42	11,612	26	21	30	8	1,117	53	34	125	27	10	69	0.002
	All upper gastrointestinal^**	17	2,678	15	11	28	16	2,554	15	10	23	1	124	33			18	−46	29	0.260
	Anal	0					0					0
	Colon	2	1,747	20	18	22	2	1,747	20	18	22	0
	Colorectal	29	9,576	30	28	51	24	8,666	29	22	32	5	910	90	43	279	59	9	110	0.010
	Esophageal	5	935	31	24	68	4	811	31	22	78	1	124	33			3	−46	11	0.724
	Gastric	4	475	30	25	45	2	329	28	25	30	2	83	38	30	46	10	0	21	0.414
	Liver	1	130	9			1	130	9			0
	Pancreatic	5	493	14	11	20	5	493	14	11	20	0
	Rectal	5	979	31	20	126	4	945	26	20	118	1	34	128			101	7	108	0.289
	Stomach	1	187	9			1	187	9			0
Genitourinary	All genitourinary	32	6,784	24	12	30	30	6,496	18	10	30	2	288	97	78	116	72	−36	112	0.129
	Bladder	12	2,135	14	4	96	12	2,135	14	4	96	0
	Penile	3	517	92	75	116	2	263	84	75	92	1	254	116			33	24	41	0.540
	Prostate	8	3,035	27	15	91	8	3,035	27	15	91	0
	Renal	5	567	10	3	66	4	533	7	3	29	1	34	78			71	48	75	0.289
	Testicular	3	272	29	12	30	3	272	29	12	30	0
	Upper urinary	0					0					0
Gynecological	All gynecological	32	4,218	27	16	51	22	2,206	21	15	30	10	2,012	79	40	129	51	22	90	0.017
	Cervical	14	2,145	41	25	88	6	502	29	16	43	8	1,913	79	14	119	47	−17	94	0.137
	Endometrial	5	664	16	11	56	4	602	15	10	42	1	62	60			46	17	50	0,289
	Ovarian	10	1,041	18	13	47	9	1,004	15	12	28	1	37	168			153	78	159	0.163
	Uterine	1	35	21			1	35	21			0
	Vulvar	2	63	66	17	114	2	63	66	17	114	0
Head and neck	All head and neck	51	5,890	45	32	63	22	3,361	31	30	58	29	2,529	60	45	90	23	1	55	0.025
	Hypopharyngeal	1	97	90			0					1	97	90
	Laryngeal	7	540	60	32	96	3	344	89	35	119	4	196	53	24	89	−29	−96	56	0.596
	Nasopharyngeal	3	413	42	30	910	1	101	42			2	312	60	30	90	18	−12	48	1.000
	Oral	18	1,995	47	31	73	6	690	31	22	87	12	1,305	55	35	90	16	−21	59	0.541
	Oropharyngeal	6	1,122	30	25	77	4	1,085	30	21	63	2	37	60	30	90	18	−34	69	0.461
	Thyroid	2	179	40	21	60	2	179	40	21	60	0
Hematological	All hematological	38	5,346	21	16	29	33	5,102	19	16	26	5	244	42	23	156	24	6	57	0.017
	Leukemia	10	1,028	19	11	34	9	973	16	9	32	1	55	186			170	151	182	0.163
	Lymphoma	17	2,517	21	17	28	14	2,357	20	16	27	3	160	28	21	42	10	−2	25	0.184
	Myeloma	5	1,287	24	6	48	5	1,287	24	6	48	0
Musculoskeletal	Sarcoma	13	4,148	75	29	130	12	4,125	60	29	154	1	23	86			15	−158	73	0.689
Neurologic/brain	Neurologic/brain	5	320	48	9	616	2	192	11	7	15	3	128	270	48	730	258	33	723	0.149
Respiratory/thoracic	Lung	37	17,964	28	22	32	23	5,663	22	20	30	14	12,301	33	28	59	13	3	31	0.023
Skin	Melanoma	9	1,353	85	39	334	7	1,111	70	25	764	2	242	118	85	150	35	−1,775	130	0.661
Skin	Nonmelanoma	5	1,511	60	57	476	5	1,511	60	57	477	0
Unknown	Unknown primary	1	110	7			1	110	7			0

k = number of studies/estimates joined in meta-analysis; N = number of patients; med = pooled median (in days); LLCI and ULCI = lower-level and upper-level confidence interval, respectively; Diff = difference between lower- and high-income countries based on Wilcoxon rank sum test; PA-associated = pregnancy-associated.

When k = 1, the median from the single located study is reported.

*Breast cancer only includes female breast cancer.

**Upper-gastrointestinal cancers include esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, small bowel cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, and cancers of the biliary system.