Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28831636›Full record

ArticleBreast cancer research and treatment2017

Survival and level of care among breast cancer patients with brain metastases treated with whole brain radiotherapy.

Gabriella Frisk, Beatrice Tinge, Sara Ekberg, Sandra Eloranta, L Magnus Bäcklund, Elisabet Lidbrink, Karin E Smedby

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Breast cancer research and treatment, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-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

12 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

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  12. Palliative care: needs of advanced breast cancer patients.Breast cancer (Dove Medical Press) · 2018
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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

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Gabriella FriskDepartment of Medicine Solna, Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Karolinska Institute Solna, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden. gabriella.frisk@ki.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3817-0577
Beatrice TingeDepartment of Medicine Solna, Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Karolinska Institute Solna, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden.
Sara EkbergDepartment of Medicine Solna, Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Karolinska Institute Solna, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden.
Sandra ElorantaDepartment of Medicine Solna, Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Karolinska Institute Solna, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden.
L Magnus BäcklundDepartment of Medicine Solna, Unit for Experimental Cardiovascular Research, Karolinska Institute Solna, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden.
Elisabet LidbrinkDepartment of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital Solna, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden.
Karin E SmedbyDepartment of Medicine Solna, Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Karolinska Institute Solna, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76, Stockholm, Sweden.
Karolinska University Hospital · SEKarolinska Institutet · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe benefit of whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) for late stage breast cancer patients with brain metastases has been questioned. In this study we evaluated survival and level of care (hospital or home) following WBRT in a population-based cohort by personal and tumor characteristics.

methodsWe identified 241 consecutive patients with breast cancer and brain metastases receiving WBRT in Stockholm, Sweden, 1999-2012. Through review of medical records, we collected data on prognostic determinants including level of care before and after WBRT. Survival was estimated using Cox regression, and odds ratios (OR) of not coming home using logistic regression.

resultsMedian age at WBRT was 58 years (range 30---88 years). Most patients (n = 212, 88%) were treated with 4 Gray × 5. Median survival following WBRT was 2.9 months (interquartile range 1.1-6.6 months), and 57 patients (24%) were never discharged from hospital. Poor performance status and triple-negative tumors were associated with short survival (WHO 3-4 median survival 0.9 months, HR = 5.96 (3.88-9.17) versus WHO 0-1; triple-negative tumors median survival 2.0 months, HR = 1.87 (1.23-2.84) versus Luminal A). Poor performance status and being hospitalized before WBRT were associated with increased ORs of not coming home whereas cohabitation with children at home was protective.

conclusionSurvival was short following WBRT, and one in four breast cancer patients with brain metastases could never be discharged from hospital. When deciding about WBRT, WHO score, level of care before WBRT, and the patient's choice of level of care in the end-of-life period should be considered.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overBrainBrain NeoplasmsBreast NeoplasmsDisease-Free SurvivalFemaleHumansMiddle AgedNeoplasm MetastasisPatient SelectionSwedenTerminal CareBrain metastasesBreast cancerLevel of careWhole brain radiotherapy

Identifiers

PMID28831636
PMCPMC5680371
OpenAlexW2747453991

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.