The burden of cancer therapy on patients’ time is often overlooked. Building on the ‘time toxicity’ literature, we introduce the concept of time budgeting, viewing patients’ time as a limited, measurable resource that can be managed through treatment selection, pathway design and trial protocols.
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Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology published a clinical update in Oncology on 21 Apr 2026.
The item focuses on Time as an unmeasured ‘dose’ in oncology: introducing time budgeting as a design principle for cancer care.
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