Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31346902›Full record

ReviewJournal of neuro-oncology2019

Evidence-based dexamethasone dosing in malignant brain tumors: what do we really know?

Charissa A C Jessurun, Alexander F C Hulsbergen, Logan D Cho, Linda S Aglio, Rishi D S Nandoe Tewarie, Marike L D Broekman

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of neuro-oncology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 10% 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

18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Observational
  5. Article
  6. Corticosteroids in lung cancer.Frontiers in drug safety and regulation · 2025
    Review
  7. Dexamethasone-associated regression of glioblastoma.Surgical neurology international · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Palliative care for children with central nervous system tumors: results of a Spanish multicenter study.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2024
    Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. A 10-year retrospective observational study on the utility and prescription standards of dexamethasone in pediatric neuro-oncosurgery in a tertiary care center.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2022
    Observational
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Current approaches to the management of brain metastases.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 2020
    Review
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

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Charissa A C JessurunFaculty of Medicine, University of Amsterdam/Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location Academic Medical Center (AMC), Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands.
Alexander F C HulsbergenComputational Neuroscience Outcomes Center (CNOC), Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Logan D ChoComputational Neuroscience Outcomes Center (CNOC), Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Linda S AglioComputational Neuroscience Outcomes Center (CNOC), Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Rishi D S Nandoe TewarieDepartment of Neurosurgery, Haaglanden Medical Center, Lijnbaan 32, 2512VA, The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands.
Marike L D BroekmanDepartment of Neurosurgery, Haaglanden Medical Center, Lijnbaan 32, 2512VA, The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands. m.broekman@haaglandenmc.nl.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5045-5797
Brigham and Women's Hospital · USLeiden University Medical Center · NLUniversity Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe present study aims to conduct a systematic review of literature reporting on the dose and dosing schedule of dexamethasone (DXM) in relation to clinical outcomes in malignant brain tumor patients, with particular attention to evidence-based practice.

methodsA systematic search was performed in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, Academic Search Premier, and PsycINFO to identify studies that reported edema volume reduction, symptomatic relief, adverse events and survival in relation to dexamethasone dose in glioma or brain metastasis (BM) patients.

resultsAfter screening 1812 studies, fifteen articles were included for qualitative review. Most studies reported a dose of 16 mg, mostly in a schedule of 4 mg four times a day. Due to heterogeneity of studies, it was not possible to perform quantitative meta-analysis. For BMs, best available evidence suggests that higher doses of DXM may give more adverse events, but may not necessarily result in better clinical condition. Some studies suggest that higher DXM doses are associated with shorter survival in the palliative setting. For glioma, DXM may lead to symptomatic improvement, yet no studies directly compare different doses. Results regarding edema reduction and survival in glioma patients are conflicting.

conclusionsEvidence on the safety and efficacy of different DXM doses in malignant brain tumor patients is scarce and conflicting. Best available evidence suggests that low DXM doses may be noninferior to higher doses in certain circumstances, but more comparative research in this area is direly needed, especially in light of the increasing importance of immunotherapy for brain tumors.

Indexed as

Evidence-Based MedicineAnti-Inflammatory AgentsBrain NeoplasmsDexamethasoneDose-Response Relationship, DrugHumansAnti-Inflammatory AgentsDexamethasoneBrain metastasesDexamethasoneDosingEvidence-based medicineGlioma

Identifiers

PMID31346902
PMCPMC6700052
OpenAlexW2964222771

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.