{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T09:09:30Z","timestamp":1788944970601,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788912000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100013739","name":"Pfizer","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["349589"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["349589"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100013739","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100013739","name":"Pfizer","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["103743675"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["103743675"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100013739","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["349589"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["349589"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/059g90c15","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["103743675"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["103743675"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/059g90c15","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Curr. Oncol.","Current Oncology"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is integral to colorectal cancer (CRC) care, but its value depends on results being available when treatment decisions are made. We conducted a qualitative study to identify quality gaps in CRC NGS pathways and assess perspectives on digital and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled workflow support. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 medical oncologists and pathologists from 14 Ontario hospitals, and transcripts were analyzed thematically. Five themes emerged: (1) clinical indications and test ordering, where initiation was inconsistent because of unclear reflex-testing criteria, reliance on upstream clinicians, staging uncertainty, evolving indications, and funding constraints; (2) tissue, pathology, and laboratory workflow, where participants attributed bottlenecks and turnaround variability to send-out testing, staffing, infrastructure, and capacity; (3) interdisciplinary communication and tracking, where informal communication, unclear ownership, and manual tracking highlighted the need for closed-loop confirmation and alerts; (4) reporting and clinical integration, where report clarity, interpretability, and timing affected use; and (5) electronic health record integration and AI integration, where fragmented systems and limited interoperability delayed result access. Participants supported clinician-supervised digital or AI-enabled tools for case identification, triage, tracking, and overdue-result alerts. CRC NGS optimization requires standardized reflex criteria, clearer ownership, closed-loop tracking, reliable routing, structured reporting, and interoperable infrastructure.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/curroncol33090540","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T08:05:43Z","timestamp":1788941143000},"page":"540","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Assessing Quality Gaps and Clinician Perspectives on AI Integration in Colorectal Cancer NGS Pathways"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"33","author":[{"given":"Luxiga","family":"Thanabalachandran","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, Queen\u2019s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Darya","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen\u2019s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Avery","family":"Newman-Simmons","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen\u2019s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Claire","family":"Norman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, Queen\u2019s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-0135-4535","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniel","family":"Jafari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen\u2019s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-3194-0945","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tamara","family":"Grahovac","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, Queen\u2019s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5121-8788","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aaron","family":"Pollett","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-3604-9645","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Weei-Yuarn","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lina","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shaqil","family":"Kassam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Southlake Health, Newmarket, ON L3Y 2P9, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carly C.","family":"Barron","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-5474-1486","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Suneil","family":"Khanna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"St. Michael\u2019s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kristin","family":"Wright","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oncology, Queen\u2019s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada"},{"name":"Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, ON K7L 2V7, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3847-0289","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stephanie","family":"Snow","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Medical Oncology, QEII Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, NS B3H 3A7, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5956-3623","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ron","family":"Burkes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Hematology Oncology, Sinai Health, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tao","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen\u2019s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Grin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen\u2019s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1536-1864","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Taylor","family":"Moffat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oncology, Queen\u2019s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada"},{"name":"Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario, Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Kingston, ON K7L 2V7, 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