Evidence map›Paper›PMID 16465173›Full record

SynthesisBritish journal of cancer2006

The effectiveness of treatment for depression/depressive symptoms in adults with cancer: a systematic review.

S Williams, J Dale

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in British journal of cancer, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
62citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

62 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Psychological interventions for women with non-metastatic breast cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. A systematic review of psychological interventions for patients with head and neck cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2019
    Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Evidence for interventions to improve psychological outcomes in people with head and neck cancer: a systematic review of the literature.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2011
    Pooled it
  9. Pooled it
  10. Psychotherapy for depression among incurable cancer patients.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2008
    Pooled it
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Low-income cancer patients in depression treatment: dropouts and completers.The journal of behavioral health services & research · 2013
    Trial
  14. Trial
  15. Slow versus standard up-titration of paroxetine for the treatment of depression in cancer patients: a pilot study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2012
    Trial
  16. Trial
  17. Trial
  18. Randomized controlled trial of collaborative care management of depression among low-income patients with cancer.Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2008
    Trial
  19. Trial
  20. Article

2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

S WilliamsDivision of Health in the Community, Centre for Primary Health Care Studies, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
J Dale

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Depression is common in cancer patients, and this often remains undetected and untreated. Depression has been associated with poorer quality of life, in addition to increased impairment of immune response and poorer survival in cancer patients. Previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the efficacy of interventions for cancer patients with depression have failed to distinguish between caseness for depression and depressive symptoms. The findings from this systematic review show that there is limited trial data on the efficacy of prescribed antidepressants in reducing the incidence of major depression and depressive symptoms in cancer patients. Contrary to previous reviews that failed to distinguish between depressive symptoms and depression, this review found very little data from clinical trials (without the possibility of confounding factors) to demonstrate that psychotherapeutic interventions are effective in reducing depression in cancer patients. A number of small-scale, single-centre trials indicated that psychotherapeutic interventions (especially cognitive behavioural therapy) can have effects on depressive symptoms in cancer patients. However, given the methodological limitations of studies to date, lack of evidence should not be interpreted as implying lack of efficacy. In conclusion, there is a need for adequately powered studies of pharmacological and psychotherapeutic studies, which are targeted at cancer patients with a diagnosis of depression and include monitoring of the use of other pharmacological/psychotherapeutic and complementary and alternative medicine interventions.

Indexed as

Antidepressive AgentsDepressionDepressive DisorderHumansNeoplasmsRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment OutcomeAntidepressive Agents

Identifiers

PMID16465173
PMCPMC2361139

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.