Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21347639›Full record

ArticleStrahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al]2011

Quality of life outcomes in patients with anal cancer after combined radiochemotherapy.

Grit Welzel, Verena Hägele, Frederik Wenz, Sabine Kathrin Mai

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al], 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 3 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

28 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. The impact of anal cancer treatment on female sexuality and intimacy: a systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
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  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
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  11. Symptom burden, psychological distress, and health-related quality of life in cancer survivors with pelvic late radiation tissue injuries.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Quality of life and fatigue before and after radiotherapy in breast cancer patients.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2021
    Article
  15. Proton beam radiotherapy for anal and rectal cancers.Journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2020
    Review
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Surveillance of anal carcinoma after radiochemotherapy : A retrospective analysis of 80 patients.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2017
    Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
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

4 authors.

Grit WelzelDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany. grit.welzel@umm.de
Verena Hägele
Frederik Wenz
Sabine Kathrin Mai

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo assess self-reported quality of life (QoL) experienced by anal cancer patients after radiochemotherapy, and to identify patient- and disease-related factors associated with QoL. PATIENTS AND

methodsA total of 88 patients treated for anal cancer at our institution between 1990 and 2006 were identified from our database. Of these, 15 patients had died, and 4 were lost to follow-up. QoL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire (cancer-specific QoL) and the colorectal cancer module QLQ-CR38 (site-specific QoL); 52 responses were received. The median follow-up was 36 months (range, 5-137 months).

resultsAs for cancer-specific QoL, global health QoL score (mean 60.4) was similar to the general German population, whereas most of the function and symptom scale scores were considerably lower/higher in anal cancer patients. The most prominent mean score differences were observed in role functioning (-21.8 points), emotional functioning (-20.7 points), social functioning (-28.9 points), diarrhea (+34.6 points), and financial difficulties (+26.9 points; p < 0.001). As for site-specific QoL, the mean function scale scores ranged from 22.1 (sexual function) to 63.2 (body image), and the mean symptom scale scores from 14.7 (weight loss) to 69.0 (stoma-related problems, 4 patients) and 67.9 (male sexual dysfunction), respectively. Most of the QoL scores were not affected by late toxicity, patient- or disease-related factors. Fatigue (+18.2 points) emerged as the strongest predictor of impaired QoL.

conclusionThe global health QoL of anal cancer patients is comparable with that of the general German population, but there are specific limitations, e.g., sexual dysfunction, urological/gastrointestinal complaints, financial difficulties, fatigue, and a reduction in emotional and social well-being.

Indexed as

Activities of Daily LivingAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAnus NeoplasmsChemotherapy, AdjuvantCombined Modality TherapyFatigueFemaleFluorouracilGermanyHealth StatusHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm StagingFluorouracil

Identifiers

PMID21347639

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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.