Fig. 4

LiNGAM adjacency matrix of causal factors. Linear Non-Gaussian Acyclic Model (LiNGAM) adjacency matrix. Network of complex causal relationships among variables in the study. x0; age, x1; sex, x2; type of cancer diagnosis (lung or colorectal cancer versus other cancers), x3; TNM stage of cancer, x4; whether the patient is on active treatment, x5; time elapsed after diagnosis, x6; global quality of life, x7; physical functioning, x8; role functioning, x9; emotional functioning, x10; cognitive functioning, x11; social functioning, x12; fatigue, x13; nausea and vomiting, x14; pain, x15; dyspnea, x16; insomnia, x17; appetite, x18; constipation, x19; diarrhea, x20; financial difficulties. Each node in the plot represents a variable, and the directed edges between nodes indicate the direction of causality. LiNGAM aims to identify the causal ordering of variables and their causal effects, so the plot will show the inferred causal structure based on the analysis of the data