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Case Reports
. 2019 Aug:5:1-10.
doi: 10.1200/JGO.19.00164.

Scientific Productivity and Cancer-Related Mortality: A Case Study of a Positive Association in Colombia

David Bravo-Linares  1 , Andrés M Acevedo-Melo  1 , Alejandro Ruiz-Patiño  2 , Luisa Ricaurte  2 , Diana Lucio-Arias  3 , Andrés F Cardona  2   4   5
Affiliations
Case Reports

Scientific Productivity and Cancer-Related Mortality: A Case Study of a Positive Association in Colombia

David Bravo-Linares et al. J Glob Oncol. 2019 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose: Cancer morbidity represents an increasing public health issue; this worldwide phenomenon also is true for emerging upper-middle-income countries, such as Colombia. The main purpose of this study was to uncover the relationship between scientific productivity and cancer-related mortality in our setting.

Methods: We conducted a temporal-trend ecologic study by means of bibliometric analysis from records of publications from SCOPUS database with Colombian institutional affiliations between 2000 and 2015. Productivity and overall mortality were estimated and compared using econometric modeling to identify potential correlations. Additional exploratory analyses per six most frequent cancer sites were performed.

Results: Of 2,645 publication records retrieved, 1,464 (55.3%) met selection criteria to be classified as Colombian scientific production (interobserver agreement, 92.96%; κ = 0.859; 95% CI, 0.800 to 0.918). Overall, 79.6% of the records corresponded to original or in-press articles; furthermore, almost half (49.7%) embodied descriptive study designs. Selected records reported a median of five authors and three different affiliations per publication; 66% had been cited at least once up to September 2017. The most-studied cancer-specific locations were cervix (16.1%), breast (11.5%), and stomach (9.8%), but nonspecific locations had the largest combined participation (23.4%). An increasing trend in scientific productivity was correlated to decreasing trend in overall cancer mortality, which was reported as an inverse proportional relationship in the linear regression modeling (r = -0.958; P < .001). Graphic analyses per cancer-specific sites revealed heterogeneous behaviors of this relationship.

Conclusion: Colombian cancer-specific scientific productivity demonstrated a steady growth as opposed to a decreasing mortality trend in the recent years. The research output is predominantly descriptive with relatively low interinstitutional partnership and low impact in the international scientific community.

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Conflict of interest statement

The following represents disclosure information provided by authors of this manuscript. All relationships are considered compensated. Relationships are self-held unless noted. I = Immediate Family Member, Inst = My Institution. Relationships may not relate to the subject matter of this manuscript. For more information about ASCO's conflict of interest policy, please refer to www.asco.org/rwc or ascopubs.org/jgo/site/misc/authors.html.

Andrés M. Acevedo-Melo

Employment: Roche

Consulting or Advisory Role: Glenmark, Cidal

Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Roche

Andrés F. Cardona

Honoraria: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim, Abbvie, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Celldex

Consulting or Advisory Role: Roche, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Foundation Medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim, Foundation for Clinical and Applied Cancer Research

Speakers' Bureau: Merck Sharp & Dohme, Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Foundation for Clinical and Applied Cancer Research, Foundation Medicine

Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Merck Sharp & Dohme, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim, Foundation Medicine

No other potential conflicts of interest were reported.

Figures

FIG 1
FIG 1
Prisma flow diagram for the systematic search: elaboration on the basis of data downloaded from SCOPUS, December 2016.
FIG 2
FIG 2
Cancer related mortality: elaboration on the basis of data downloaded from the annual mortality rates reported by GLOBOCAN for Colombia. ASR, age-standardized rates.
FIG 3
FIG 3
Correlation graph for yearly publication rate and cancer related mortality: elaboration on the basis of data downloaded from SCOPUS and the population register of Cali, December 2016. ASR, age-standardized rates.
FIG 4
FIG 4
(A) Site-specific mortality and (B) scientific productivity by main sites: elaboration on the basis of data downloaded from SCOPUS, December 2016. Sex-specific cancer sites are shown separately. ASR, age standardized rates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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