ReviewJournal of cancer survivorship : research and practice2020
Return to work after a cancer diagnosis: a meta-review of reviews and a meta-synthesis of recent qualitative studies.
Review in Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 102 papers, 11 of them syntheses 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.
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Who cites it
102 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 149 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Impact of Prostate Cancer Treatment on Work Participation: A Systematic Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Psychosocial responses to outdoor artificial light at night (ALAN): a scoping review.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Risk factors for return to work in workers who experienced cancer: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Oncology reviews · 2026Pooled it
- Prognostic factors affecting return to work in cancer patients: a systematic review.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of smartphone applications for cancer survivors.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2024Pooled it
- Non-medical interventions to enhance return to work for people with cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- The unmet rehabilitation needs of colorectal cancer survivors after surgery: A qualitative meta-synthesis.Nursing open · 2024Pooled it
- Return to work in patients with head and neck cancer: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Head & neck · 2022Pooled it
- The need to consider return to work as a main outcome in patients undergoing surgery for diffuse low-grade glioma: a systematic review.Acta neurochirurgica · 2022Pooled it
- Facilitators and barriers to shared primary and specialist cancer care: a systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2021Pooled it
- The use of survivorship care plans by female racial and ethnic minority breast cancer survivors: a systematic review.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2020Pooled it
- The effect of insomnia treatment on work productivity and related costs among cancer survivors with insomnia and comorbid perceived cognitive impairments: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026Trial
- Work ability following breast cancer - the MyHealth randomized controlled trial.Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden) · 2025Trial
- "Rebuilding Myself"- An intervention enhancing adaptability of cancer patients to return to work: a feasibility study.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P · 2025Trial
- Patient Experiences With a Symptom Monitoring and Self-Referral Program for Specialty Palliative Care After Lung Cancer Diagnosis: Qualitative Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Return to work experience on structural constraints and gendered differences among nasopharyngeal carcinoma survivors: a qualitative study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- SusTained Employability in cancer Patients and their partnerS: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial into the Effectiveness of the STEPS Program.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Symptom burden in cancer survivorship: insights from a survivorship program's patient-reported outcomes database.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Comparing loss of contractual employment pre- and post-diagnosis in patients with rare versus common cancer types: a national registry-based study.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026Article
- Experiences of unemployed and/or work-disabled cancer survivors who have pursued to return to paid employment: a focus group study.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026Article
42 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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 at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeReturning to work (RTW) after cancer treatment can be challenging, but when desired, has many benefits. While there are many qualitative studies (reviews and recent studies) available on cancer survivors' experience of returning to work, synthesis of these qualitative studies is lacking. We aimed to summarise the existing qualitative reviews and recent studies following the last published review, to examine cancer survivors' motivations for and experiences of RTW, and to highlight factors within both the survivors and his or her environment that influence RTW.
methodA set of systematic reviews focusing on RTW were identified. A systematic search for individual papers published on RTW since the last review was also completed. Data extraction and bias assessment were conducted, with 25% double-coded to ensure reliability. A meta-ethnographic approach was utilised to synthesise the findings of each.
resultsSeven systematic reviews and 12 individual papers between 2017 and 2019 were identified. Quality was variable. Most reviews and studies focused on women with breast cancer. Three major themes were identified: person factors, employment factors and wider contextual factors including family, social and cultural variables.
conclusionsWe identified gaps in research on the RTW experiences of people with cancers other than breast, men, those with low incomes and more diverse populations. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Cancer survivors need to consider personal, employer and wider contextual factors when deciding whether and when to RTW. Future interventions to support survivors should be informed by these findings, addressing the diverse range of potential factors related to RTW in an individual survivor.
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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.