Trial reportJournal of pain and symptom management2016
Dexamethasone for Dyspnea in Cancer Patients: A Pilot Double-Blind, Randomized, Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Journal of pain and symptom management, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 of them syntheses 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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review of the literature on the occurrence and characteristics of dyspnea in oncology patients.Critical reviews in oncology/hematology · 2023Pooled it
- Pharmacologic Interventions for Breathlessness in Patients With Advanced Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2021Pooled it
- Systemic corticosteroids for the management of cancer-related breathlessness (dyspnoea) in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Effect of dexamethasone on dyspnoea in patients with cancer (ABCD): a parallel-group, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial.The Lancet. Oncology · 2022Trial
- Polypharmacy Increases Risk of Dyspnea Among Adults With Serious, Life-Limiting Diseases.The American journal of hospice & palliative care · 2020Trial
- Comparative effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for dyspnea management in advanced cancer: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing · 2025Review
- Impact of corticosteroids on the efficacy of first-line pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.Therapeutic advances in medical oncology · 2025Article
- Pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in patients with PDL1 ⩾50% advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, depending on tumor aggressiveness and clinical impact.Therapeutic advances in medical oncology · 2025Article
- Article
- Corticosteroids in lung cancer.Frontiers in drug safety and regulation · 2025Review
- Glucocorticoid Effect in Cancer Patients.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2023Article
- Do Patients Benefit from a Trial of Corticosteroids at the End of Life?Current treatment options in oncology · 2022Review
- Review
- Commonalities Between COVID-19 and Radiation Injury.Radiation research · 2021Review
- Physician-Perceived Predictive Factors for the Effectiveness of Drugs for Treating Cancer Dyspnea: Results of a Nationwide Survey of Japanese Palliative Care Physicians.Palliative medicine reports · 2020Article
- Unanswered questions and future direction in the management of terminal breathlessness in patients with cancer.ESMO open · 2020Review
- Fentanyl treatment for end-of-life dyspnoea relief in advanced cancer patients.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2019Article
- Symptomatic treatment of dyspnea in advanced cancer patients : A narrative review of the current literature.Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2018Review
- Beneficial effects of dexmedetomidine on early postoperative cognitive dysfunction in pediatric patients with tonsillectomy.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2018Article
- Off-Label Medication Use in the Inpatient Palliative Care Unit.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2017Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
contextDexamethasone is often used to treat dyspnea in cancer patients, but evidence is lacking.
objectivesWe determined the feasibility of conducting a randomized trial of dexamethasone in cancer patients and estimated the efficacy of dexamethasone in the treatment of dyspnea.
methodsIn this double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, patients with dyspnea ≥4 were randomized to receive either dexamethasone 8 mg twice daily × four days then 4 mg twice daily × three days or placebo for seven days, followed by an open-label phase for seven days. We documented the changes in dyspnea (0-10 numeric rating scale), spirometry measures, quality of life, and toxicities.
resultsA total of 41 patients were randomized and 35 (85%) completed the blinded phase. Dexamethasone was associated with a significant reduction in dyspnea numeric rating scale of -1.9 (95% CI -3.3 to -0.5, P = 0.01) by Day 4 and -1.8 (95% CI -3.2 to -0.3, P = 0.02) by Day 7. In contrast, placebo was associated with a reduction of -0.7 (95% CI -2.1 to 0.6, P = 0.38) by Day 4 and -1.3 (95% CI -2.4 to -0.2, P = 0.03) by Day 7. The between-arm difference was not statistically significant. Drowsiness improved with dexamethasone. Dexamethasone was well tolerated with no significant toxicities.
conclusionA double-blind, randomized, controlled trial of dexamethasone was feasible with a low attrition rate. Our preliminary data suggest that dexamethasone may be associated with rapid improvement in dyspnea and was well tolerated. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.govNCT01670097.
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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.