Puxty K, et al. – Investigators compared the clinical characteristics and outcomes of surgical patients with and without cancer admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in this observational retrospective cohort study. A total of 25,017 surgical ICU admissions were included between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2011, in which time data analysis was also performed. The researchers found that cancer patients were more likely to have been admitted to the hospital electively and receive no organ support in the ICU. They also noted that short-term outcomes in cancer patients admitted to the ICU differed significantly by underlying tumor type, severity of illness, and admission features. In perspective of these discoveries, they suggested that a diagnosis of cancer should not preclude admission to an ICU in surgical patients.