ArticleBMC urology2019
Radiotherapy for prostate cancer: DISCERN quality assessment of patient-oriented websites in 2018.
Article in BMC urology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- COVID-19 prevention and treatment information on the internet: a systematic analysis and quality assessment.BMJ open · 2020Pooled it
- 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 Brief Report: Comparative Evaluation of Online Spanish and English Content on Pancreatic Cancer Treatment.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2023Article
- Readability and Quality Assessment of Online Materials for Syndactyly Release.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2022Article
- Participatory Development and Preliminary Psychometric Properties of the User-Friendly Patient Information Material Checklist (UPIM-Check).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Quality of online self-management resources for adults living with primary brain cancer, and their carers: a systematic environmental scan.BMC palliative care · 2021Article
- Quality and readability of web-based Arabic health information on COVID-19: an infodemiological study.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Making surgery safer in an increasingly digital world: the internet-friend or foe?World journal of urology · 2020Review
- Quality Assessment of YouTube Videos on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for Cancer Using a Newly Developed Tool.Integrative cancer therapiesArticle
- An infodemiology study on exploring the quality and reliability of colorectal cancer immunotherapy information.Digital healthArticle
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
backgroundProstate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. Radiotherapy represents one major treatment option in different therapeutic settings. As patients increasingly rely on internet-based medical information, we examined the quality of information on radiotherapy and prostate cancer in websites used by laypersons.
methodsAn Internet search from a patients` perspective was carried out using different search engines (Google, Yahoo and Bing, search terms: "prostate cancer" and "radiotherapy"). The quality of search results was analyzed with regard to the DISCERN score, HON code certification, the JAMA criteria and the ALEXA traffic rank.
resultsIn general, websites were of good quality. The highest quality was found for websites operated by charity organizations. No significant differences in results obtained via the above-mentioned tools were seen for the examined search engines, but Google revealed the most stable search results in terms of temporal changes.
conclusionPatients with prostate cancer can sufficiently inform themselves on general treatment options including radiotherapy on websites directed at laypersons. However, no simple strategy could identify high quality websites in general. For treating physicians, it is important to support patients in interpreting and ranking the vast quantity of information.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What 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.