SynthesisBritish journal of cancer2008
Oxygen for relief of dyspnoea in mildly- or non-hypoxaemic patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in British journal of cancer, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 158 citations in OpenAlex.
- Guideline for Medication Management of Distressing Symptoms in Older Patients Receiving End-of-Life Palliative Care.Journal of evidence-based medicine · 2026Guideline
- [Oxygen in the acute care of adults : Short version of the German S3 guideline].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2022Guideline
- [Pharmacological therapy of refractory dyspnoea : a systematic literature review].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2012Pooled it
- An official American Thoracic Society statement: update on the mechanisms, assessment, and management of dyspnea.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2012Guideline
- The effect of resistance inspiratory muscle training in the management of breathlessness in patients with thoracic malignancies: a randomised controlled trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Academic detailing of general practitioners by a respiratory physician for diagnosis and management of refractory breathlessness: a randomised pilot study.BMC health services research · 2015Trial
- Effect of palliative oxygen versus room air in relief of breathlessness in patients with refractory dyspnoea: a double-blind, randomised controlled trial.Lancet (London, England) · 2010Trial
- Supplemental oxygen induced cardiovascular pathophysiology in an end-of-life care model in mice.Physiological reports · 2026Article
- Focus on the Role of Non-Invasive Respiratory Support (NRS) during Palliative Care in Patients with Life-Limiting Respiratory Disease.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Comparison of the Life-Sustaining Treatment, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, and Palliative Care Implementation Rates between Homebound Patients with Malignant and Nonmalignant Disease Who Died in an Acute Hospital Setting: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Can guidelines rein in oxygen use? A retrospective cross-sectional study using routinely collected data.International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care · 2023Article
- Current Management Options for Dyspnea in Cancer Patients.Current treatment options in oncology · 2023Review
- Impact of end-of-life respiratory modalities on quality of dying and death and symptom relief in patients with interstitial lung disease: a multicenter descriptive cross-sectional study.Respiratory research · 2022Article
- Critically ill cancer patient's resuscitation: a Belgian/French societies' consensus conference.Intensive care medicine · 2021Article
- Oxygen use and survival in patients with advanced cancer and low oxygen saturation in home care: a preliminary retrospective cohort study.BMC palliative care · 2020Article
- Symptomatic treatment of dyspnea in advanced cancer patients : A narrative review of the current literature.Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2018Review
- Does special education in palliative medicine make a difference in end-of-life decision-making?BMC palliative care · 2018Article
- [Interprofessional symptom management at the end of life].Der Urologe. Ausg. A · 2018Article
- [Interprofessional symptom management at the end of life].Der Anaesthesist · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of palliative oxygen for relief of dyspnoea in cancer patients. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for randomised controlled trials, comparing oxygen and medical air in cancer patients not qualifying for home oxygen therapy. Abstracts were reviewed and studies were selected using Cochrane methodology. The included studies provided oxygen at rest or during a 6-min walk. The primary outcome was dyspnoea. Standardised mean differences (SMDs) were used to combine scores. Five studies were identified; one was excluded from meta-analysis due to data presentation. Individual patient data were obtained from the authors of the three of the four remaining studies (one each from England, Australia, and the United States). A total of 134 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Oxygen failed to improve dyspnoea in mildly- or non-hypoxaemic cancer patients (SMD=-0.09, 95% confidence interval -0.22 to 0.04; P=0.16). Results were stable to a sensitivity analysis, excluding studies requiring the use of imputed quantities. In this small meta-analysis, oxygen did not provide symptomatic benefit for cancer patients with refractory dyspnoea, who would not normally qualify for home oxygen therapy. Further study of the use of oxygen in this population is warranted given its widespread use.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.