ArticleStrahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al]2018
Side effects of radiotherapy in breast cancer patients : The Internet as an information source.
Article in Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al], 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- Result Assessment Tool (RAT): empowering search engine data analysis.PeerJ. Computer science · 2025Article
- Diving into the Digital Landscape: Assessing the Quality of Online Information on Neonatal Jaundice for Parents.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- A web-based knowledge database to provide evidence-based information to cancer patients: Utilization within the PIKKO study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Article
- The evolvement of breast cancer therapies: What we have done and where all these head off.Saudi medical journal · 2024Review
- Physical and nonphysical effects of weekly music therapy intervention on the condition of radiooncology patients.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2023Article
- Query sampler: generating query sets for analyzing search engines using keyword research tools.PeerJ. Computer science · 2023Article
- Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT): a review of clinical outcomes-what is the clinical evidence for the most effective implementation?The British journal of radiology · 2022Review
- Are DISCERN and JAMA Suitable Instruments for Assessing YouTube Videos on Thyroid Cancer? Methodological Concerns.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2020Article
- Information in Spanish on the Internet about the Prevention of COVID-19.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Quality of information on the Internet for Korean patients with inflammatory bowel disease.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2019Article
- Heart-sparing radiotherapy techniques in breast cancer patients: a recommendation of the breast cancer expert panel of the German society of radiation oncology (DEGRO).Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2019Review
- Quality of DCIS information on the internet: a content analysis.Breast cancer research and treatment · 2019Review
- Radiotherapy for prostate cancer: DISCERN quality assessment of patient-oriented websites in 2018.BMC urology · 2019Article
- A reliability and content analysis of Italian language anorexia nervosa-related websites.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2019Article
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimBreast cancer is the most common cancer type among women necessitating adjuvant radiotherapy. As the Internet has become a major source of information for cancer patients, this study aimed to evaluate the quality of websites giving information on side effects of radiotherapy for breast cancer patients.
methodsA patients' search for the English terms "breast cancer - radiotherapy - side effects" and the corresponding German terms "Brustkrebs - Strahlentherapie - Nebenwirkungen" was carried out twice (5 months apart) using the search engine Google. The first 30 search results each were evaluated using the validated 16-question DISCERN Plus instrument, the Health on the Net Code of Conduct (HONcode) certification and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria. The overall quality (DISCERN score) of the retrieved websites was further compared to queries via Bing and Yahoo search engines.
resultsThe DISCERN score showed a great range, with the majority of websites ranking fair to poor. Significantly superior results were found for English websites, particularly for webpages run by hospitals/universities and nongovernmental organizations (NGO), when compared to the respective German categories. In general, only a minority of websites met all JAMA benchmarks and was HONcode certified (both languages). We did not determine a relevant temporal change in website ranking among the top ten search hits, while significant variation occurred thereafter. Mean overall DISCERN score was similar between the various search engines.
conclusionThe Internet can give breast cancer patients seeking information on side effects of radiotherapy an overview. However, based on the currently low overall quality of websites and the lack of transparency for the average layperson, we emphasize the value of personal contact with the treating radio-oncologist in order to integrate and interpret the information found online.
Indexed as
Identifiers
28856383What OpenQuestion holds
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.