ArticleBMC cancer2012
Prospective evaluation of quality of life effects in patients undergoing palliative radiotherapy for brain metastases.
Article in BMC cancer, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03543020 (Radiation- Induced Alopecia in Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy to the Brain), which is not on this map. Cited by 52 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Radiation- Induced Alopecia in Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy to the Brain: A Prospective Clinical and Dosimetric Study of Primary and Metastatic Brain Tumour Patients
Who cites it
52 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 96 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Patient-Reported Physical Function Measures in Cancer Clinical Trials.Epidemiologic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Evaluation of quality of life in lung cancer patients receiving radiation and Viscum album L.: a real-world data study.Radiation oncology (London, England) · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Hair-sparing whole brain radiotherapy with volumetric arc therapy in patients treated for brain metastases: dosimetric and clinical results of a phase II trial.Radiation oncology (London, England) · 2014Trial
- Photon beam energy selection for scalp dose reduction in whole-brain radiotherapy: a benchmark phantom study.Radiological physics and technology · 2026Article
- Partially Ablative Body Radiation Therapy Versus Standard Palliative Radiation Therapy for Locally Advanced Bulky Unresectable Sarcomas.Advances in radiation oncology · 2026Article
- Whole-brain radiotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost in treatment of patients with brain metastases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Review
- NTCP model guided whole brain radiation re-planning to reduce risk of acute xerostomia and dry eye.Journal of applied clinical medical physics · 2025Article
- Article
- Survival and quality of life after first-time diagnosis of brain metastases: a multicenter, prospective, observational study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
- Pain hypersensitivity, sensorimotor impairment, and decreased muscle force in a novel rat model of radiation-induced peripheral neuropathy.Journal of the peripheral nervous system : JPNS · 2024Article
- Review
- Characterization of patients with brain metastases referred to palliative care.BMC palliative care · 2024Article
- Article
- Patient reported outcomes following whole brain radiotherapy in patients with brain metastases in NSIA-LUTH Cancer Center.BMC cancer · 2023Article
- Whole-brain radiotherapy associated with structural changes resembling aging as determined by anatomic surface-based deep learning.Neuro-oncology · 2023Article
- Mask dependency of the lacrimal gland dose under whole brain radiotherapy when the six-degrees of freedom couch is not available.Journal of applied clinical medical physics · 2023Article
- Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
23 authors at 13 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRecently published results of quality of life (QoL) studies indicated different outcomes of palliative radiotherapy for brain metastases. This prospective multi-center QoL study of patients with brain metastases was designed to investigate which QoL domains improve or worsen after palliative radiotherapy and which might provide prognostic information.
methodsFrom 01/2007-01/2009, n=151 patients with previously untreated brain metastases were recruited at 14 centers in Germany and Austria. Most patients (82 %) received whole-brain radiotherapy. QoL was measured with the EORTC-QLQ-C15-PAL and brain module BN20 before the start of radiotherapy and after 3 months.
resultsAt 3 months, 88/142 (62 %) survived. Nine patients were not able to be followed up. 62 patients (70.5 % of 3-month survivors) completed the second set of questionnaires. Three months after the start of radiotherapy QoL deteriorated significantly in the areas of global QoL, physical function, fatigue, nausea, pain, appetite loss, hair loss, drowsiness, motor dysfunction, communication deficit and weakness of legs. Although the use of corticosteroid at 3 months could be reduced compared to pre-treatment (63 % vs. 37 %), the score for headaches remained stable. Initial QoL at the start of treatment was better in those alive than in those deceased at 3 months, significantly for physical function, motor dysfunction and the symptom scales fatigue, pain, appetite loss and weakness of legs. In a multivariate model, lower Karnofsky performance score, higher age and higher pain ratings before radiotherapy were prognostic of 3-month survival.
conclusionsModerate deterioration in several QoL domains was predominantly observed three months after start of palliative radiotherapy for brain metastases. Future studies will need to address the individual subjective benefit or burden from such treatment. Baseline QoL scores before palliative radiotherapy for brain metastases may contain prognostic information.
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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.