Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24026982›Full record

Trial reportSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2014

Education for cancer-related fatigue: could talking about it make people more likely to report it?

Lisa O'Brien, Anna Loughnan, Amanda Purcell, Terry Haines

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Non-medical interventions to enhance return to work for people with cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Interventions to enhance return-to-work for cancer patients.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015
    Pooled it
  4. Interventions for preparing patients for chemotherapy and radiotherapy: a systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2014
    Pooled it
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. 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 at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Lisa O'BrienOccupational Therapy Department, Monash University, Peninsula Campus, McMahon's Rd, Frankston, Victoria, 3199, Australia, lisa.obrien@monash.edu.
Anna Loughnan
Amanda Purcell
Terry Haines
Frankston Hospital · AUNorthern Health · AUPrincess Alexandra Hospital · AUThe Alfred Hospital · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeEducation-based interventions for cancer-related fatigue have shown promise in adults undergoing radiotherapy. Research on the cancer-related fatigue intervention trial (CAN-FIT) programme found that pre-radiotherapy fatigue information and support (pre-RFES) did not improve levels of fatigue, but was associated with improvements in activity-based outcomes. We aimed to measure whether pre-RFES resulted in greater participant self-ratings of their performance of daily living activities, fatigue, quality of life and distress.

methodsThirty people undergoing radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy were randomly allocated to either a 1-h RFES session from the CAN-FIT programme (delivered individually to participants and modified where necessary for patients undergoing chemotherapy) or standard care. Measures were taken pre- and post-treatment and 6 weeks after completing treatment.

resultsThere was no significant difference between groups on performance of daily living activities or ratings of distress. Further analysis found a significant difference between the control and treatment groups for EQ-5D health state visual analogue scale (-9.05 [-18.09; -0.018]; p < 0.05) and physical fatigue (2.86 [0.58; 5.14]; p < 0.02) with the treatment group rating their overall health state worse and their physical fatigue higher than the controls.

conclusionsPre-RFES delivered individually did not significantly improve participants' ratings of their performance of daily occupations and was unexpectedly associated with worse overall health state and higher physical fatigue. Future trials, ideally comparing individual and group education to exercise programmes or cognitive-behavioural approaches, are recommended to examine the broader question of whether discussing fatigue might actually make participants feel worse.

Indexed as

Activities of Daily LivingFatigueFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasmsPatient Education as TopicPilot ProjectsProspective StudiesQuality of Life

Identifiers

PMID24026982
OpenAlexW2137393677

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.