SynthesisSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2013
Efficacy of pain education in cancer patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Non-pharmacological cancer pain interventions in populations with social disparities: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2016Pooled it
- Effectiveness of an interactive online group intervention based on pain neuroscience education and graded exposure to movement in breast cancer survivors with chronic pain: a randomised controlled trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Trial
- Effectiveness of a therapeutic patient education program in improving cancer pain management: EFFADOL, a stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial.BMC cancer · 2019Trial
- Patient-Centred Web-Based Information on Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Quality and Readability.Oral diseases · 2026Article
- Impact of Pain Education on Pain Relief in Oncological Patients: A Narrative Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.Cancers · 2025Review
- Article
- Transcultural Adaptation and Psychometric Validation of the Spanish Version of the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Assessment Tools of Patient Competences: The Spanish Version of the R-NPQ and Three Practical Cases in Women with Breast Cancer and Persistent Pain.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Are patient education and self-care advantageous for patients with head and neck cancer? A feasibility study.Nursing open · 2019Article
- Evaluation of patients' needs to design and assess a patient education program in cancer pain.Journal of pain research · 2019Article
- The Impact of Educational Status on the Postoperative Perception of Pain.The Korean journal of pain · 2015Article
- Editorial Special Issue: Pain Management.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursingArticle
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 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposePatient education has been considered as one of the important strategies to improve cancer pain control. However, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have reported inconsistent findings on this issue. This study aims to evaluate the overall efficacy of pain education on improving pain management in cancer patients by using a meta-analysis of RCTs.
methodsWe searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library in February 2012. Two evaluators independently reviewed and selected trials based on the predetermined selection criteria. Out of 213 articles meeting initial criteria, 12 RCTs involving 2,169 participants (1,069 intervention group and 1,100 control group), were included in the final analysis.
resultsIn the meta-analysis of all 12 RCTs, compared with the control group, the intervention group showed a small significant lower pain intensity (standardized mean difference [SMD], -0.11; 95 % confidence interval [CI], -0.20 to -0.02). In the subgroup meta-analysis by various factors, a beneficial effect of pain education was observed for patients with an estimated prognosis of at least 3 months, a follow-up within 2 weeks after pain education, multiple sessions, measured worst pain, tailored education, general pain management, education by medical staff, and usual care for a control group. However, in the subgroup meta-analyses of trials using attention control as a control group and high-quality trials, there was no significant effect of pain education.
conclusionsFurther large, high-quality RCTs using a placebo control such as attention control are required to investigate whether pain education has a true efficacy on pain control or is a placebo effect.
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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.