Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29678980›Full record

SynthesisBMJ open2018

Health-related quality of life in Asian patients with breast cancer: a systematic review.

Peh Joo Ho, Sofie A M Gernaat, Mikael Hartman, Helena M Verkooijen

Registry-linked trialAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMJ open, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05100914 (A Nurse Empowered Spouses to Assist the Women With Breast Cancer Doing Daily Rehabilitation, and Evaluate the Effects on the Shoulder Range of Motion, Quality of Life, and Marital Intimacy.), which is not on this map. Cited by 83 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
83citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT05100914 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2019, after this paper: background citation

A Nurse Empowered Spouses to Assist the Women With Breast Cancer Doing Daily Rehabilitation, and Evaluate the Effects on the Shoulder Range of Motion, Quality of Life, and Marital Intimacy.

TypeinterventionalSponsorNational Defense Medical Center, TaiwanRan2019 to 2020Enrolled70ConditionsBreast Cancer, Women, Mastectomy, Breast-Conserving SurgeryArmsCouple-based family nursing
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

83 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Sexual dysfunction in women with breast cancer: a systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Pooled it
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  9. The effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on the quality of life of breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2021
    Pooled it
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  13. Effects of Baduanjin exercise on cognitive function and cancer-related symptoms in women with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy: a randomized controlled trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022
    Trial
  14. Article
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  16. Health related quality of life of patients with breast cancer in Malaysia: evidence from EQ-5D-5L and EORTC QLQ-C30.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
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23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

4 authors.

Peh Joo HoSaw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore.ORCID 0000-0002-3017-4023
Sofie A M GernaatJulius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Mikael HartmanSaw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Helena M VerkooijenJulius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-9480-1623

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo summarise the evidence on determinants of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in Asian patients with breast cancer.

designSystematic review conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendations and registered with PROSPERO (CRD42015032468).

methodsAccording to the PRISMA guidelines, databases of MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase and PsycINFO were systematically searched using the following terms and synonyms: breast cancer, quality of life and Asia. Articles reporting on HRQL using EORTC-QLQ-C30, EORTC-QLQ-BR23, FACT-G and FACT-B questionnaires in Asian patients with breast cancer were eligible for inclusion. The methodological quality of each article was assessed using the quality assessment scale for cross-sectional studies or the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale for cohort studies.

resultsFifty-seven articles were selected for this qualitative synthesis, of which 43 (75%) were cross-sectional and 14 (25%) were longitudinal studies. Over 75 different determinants of HRQL were studied with either the EORTC or FACT questionnaires. Patients with comorbidities, treated with chemotherapy, with less social support and with more unmet needs have poorer HRQL. HRQL improves over time. Discordant results in studies were found in the association of age, marital status, household income, type of surgery, radiotherapy and hormone therapy and unmet sexuality needs with poor global health status or overall well-being.

conclusionsIn Asia, patients with breast cancer, in particular those with other comorbidities and those treated with chemotherapy, with less social support and with more unmet needs, have poorer HRQL. Appropriate social support and meeting the needs of patients may improve patients' HRQL.

Indexed as

Health Services Needs and DemandQuality of LifeAsiaBreast NeoplasmsComorbidityFemaleHealthy LifestyleHumansSocial SupportSurveys and Questionnairesbreast cancerhealth-related quality of lifepatient-reported outcomes

Identifiers

PMID29678980
PMCPMC5914715

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

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.