Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29394923›Full record

SynthesisBMC cancer2018

Screening for distress in patients with primary brain tumor using distress thermometer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Fangkun Liu, Jing Huang, Liyang Zhang, Fan Fan, Jindong Chen, Kun Xia, Zhixiong Liu

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC cancer, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07628647 (Pilot Study of the Living Well With Brain Cancer Intervention), which is not on this map. Cited by 34 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 14% 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.

NCT07628647 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Pilot Study of the Living Well With Brain Cancer Intervention

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of Colorado, DenverRan2026 to 2027Enrolled64ConditionsBrain CancerArmsGroup Self-Management Sessions, Educational Materials Only
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.

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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.

Fangkun LiuDepartment of neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University (CSU), Changsha, China.
Jing HuangDepartment of Psychiatry, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
Liyang ZhangDepartment of neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University (CSU), Changsha, China.
Fan FanDepartment of neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University (CSU), Changsha, China.
Jindong ChenDepartment of Psychiatry, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
Kun XiaThe State Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Zhixiong LiuDepartment of neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University (CSU), Changsha, China. zhixiongliu@csu.edu.cn.
Central South University · CNXiangya Hospital Central South University · CN

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 81472693
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients with primary brain tumors are reported to have an elevated level of distress prevalence, due to the functional sequelae and the unfavorable prognosis, but the estimated prevalence of this disorder varies among studies. The Distress Thermometer (DT) is widely used distress screening tools to identify patients suffering from elevated psychosocial distress. The objective of this meta-analysis is to get a summarized estimate of distress prevalence in adult primary brain tumor patients screened by the DT instrument to identify distress in brain tumor patients.

methodWe searched studies published in PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane library through August 2017 and checked related reviews and meta-analyses for eligible studies. Studies were eligible if they were published in the peer-reviewed literature and evaluated distress level by Distress Thermometer. The prevalence of distress symptoms in patients with the intracranial tumor was estimated by study-level characteristics using stratified meta-analysis. The prevalence of distress level or symptoms during the follow-up examination at different time points was detected by secondary analysis of the longitudinal studies included.

resultsTwelve studies including a total of 2145 brain tumor patients were included in this analysis. Eight used a cross-sectional design and four were longitudinal. The pooled prevalence of distress was 38.2% (95% confidence interval (CI) 28.7%-47.7%) for the overall sample. The pooled prevalence of distress DT ≥4 was 41.1% (642/1686, 95% CI 28.6%-53.5%) and the pooled prevalence of distress by DT ≥6 was 29.7% (137/459, 95% CI 19.5%-39.9%). The distress symptom did not decrease in follow-up studies (Relative Increase Ratio:1.02, 95% CI, (0.78, 1.35)). A huge heterogeneity in different studies was detected, and different screening scales were not compared.

conclusionThe high prevalence of distress becomes an enormous challenge for primary brain tumor patients. Routine screening and evaluation of distress in brain tumor patients may assist medical workers to develop proper interventions, which may lead to better quality of life and oncology management.

Indexed as

Psychological TestsBrain NeoplasmsFemaleHumansMalePrevalenceStress, PsychologicalDistressDistress thermometerGlioblastomaMeta-analysisPrimary brain tumor

Identifiers

PMID29394923
PMCPMC5797347
OpenAlexW2785605488

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.