Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25238873›Full record

Trial reportTrials2014

A multicentre non-blinded randomised controlled trial to assess the impact of regular early specialist symptom control treatment on quality of life in malignant mesothelioma (RESPECT-MESO): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Samal Gunatilake, Fraser J H Brims, Carole Fogg, Iain Lawrie, Nick Maskell, Karen Forbes, Najib Rahman, Steve Morris, Reuben Ogollah, Stephen Gerry and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Trials, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 11% 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, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Early palliative care for adults with advanced cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017
    Pooled it
  2. NCCN Guidelines Insights: Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma, Version 3.2016.Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN · 2016
    Guideline
  3. Observational
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Malignant pleural mesothelioma: an update on investigation, diagnosis and treatment.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2016
    Review
  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

13 authors at 10 institutions in 2 countries.

Samal GunatilakeRESPECT Meso trial co-ordinator, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Portsmouth, England. drsgunatilake@gmail.com.
Fraser J H Brims
Carole Fogg
Iain Lawrie
Nick Maskell
Karen Forbes
Najib Rahman
Steve Morris
Reuben Ogollah
Stephen Gerry
Mick Peake
Liz Darlison
Anoop J Chauhan
Glenfield Hospital · GBPortsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust · GBUniversity of Portsmouth · GBAt Bristol · GBChurchill Hospital · GBImperial College Healthcare NHS Trust · GBSir Charles Gairdner Hospital · AUSouthmead Hospital · GBUniversity of Manchester · GBUniversity of Oxford · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMalignant pleural mesothelioma is an incurable cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. The United Kingdom has the highest death rate from mesothelioma in the world and this figure is increasing. Median survival is 8 to 12 months, and most patients have symptoms at diagnosis. The fittest patients may be offered chemotherapy with palliative intent. For patients not fit for systemic anticancer treatment, best supportive care remains the mainstay of management. A study from the United States examining advanced lung cancer showed that early specialist palliative care input improved patient health related quality of life and depression symptoms 12 weeks after diagnosis. While mesothelioma and advanced lung cancer share many symptoms and have a poor prognosis, oncology and palliative care services in the United Kingdom, and many other countries, vary considerably compared to the United States. The aim of this trial is to assess whether regular early symptom control treatment provided by palliative care specialists can improve health related quality of life in patients newly diagnosed with mesothelioma.

methodsThis multicentre study is an non-blinded, randomised controlled, parallel group trial. A total of 174 patients with a new diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma will be minimised with a random element in a 1:1 ratio to receive either 4 weekly regular early specialist symptom control care, or standard care. The primary outcome is health related quality of life for patients at 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes include health related quality of life for patients at 24 weeks, carer health related quality of life at 12 and 24 weeks, patient and carer mood at 12 and 24 weeks, overall survival and analysis of healthcare utilisation and cost. DISCUSSION: Current practice in the United Kingdom is to involve specialist palliative care towards the final weeks or months of a life-limiting illness. This study aims to investigate whether early, regular specialist care input can result in significant health related quality of life gains for patients with mesothelioma and if this change in treatment model is cost-effective. The results will be widely applicable to many institutions and patients both in the United Kingdom and internationally.

trial registrationCurrent controlled trials ISRCTN18955704. Date ISRCTN assigned: 31 January 2014.

Indexed as

Quality of LifeReferral and ConsultationResearch DesignAffectCaregiversClinical ProtocolsCost-Benefit AnalysisCost of IllnessHealth Care CostsHealth ResourcesHealth StatusHumansLung NeoplasmsMesotheliomaMesothelioma, MalignantPalliative Care

Identifiers

PMID25238873
PMCPMC4180732
OpenAlexW2130729085

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.