Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31938939›Full record

ArticleBreast cancer research and treatment2020

Symptom cluster of pain, fatigue, and psychological distress in breast cancer survivors: prevalence and characteristics.

Ellen Bjerkeset, Kari Röhrl, Inger Schou-Bredal

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Breast cancer research and treatment, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
72citing papers in PubMed, 4 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.

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

72 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
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  5. Trial
  6. Examining the factor structure of health-related quality of life in spinal cord injury using confirmatory factor analysis and multidimensional scaling.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Post-treatment adaptation experiences of women breast cancer survivors: a qualitative study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Article
  9. Latent profile analysis for assessing symptom clusters in women with breast cancer.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026
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  11. Cognitive impairment is associated with altered blood cell profiles in aggressive lymphoma.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
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12 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

3 authors.

Ellen BjerkesetRegional Advisory Unit for Palliative Care, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Postboks 4956 Nydalen, 0424, Oslo, Norway. uxelbj@ous-hf.no.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7434-770X
Kari RöhrlDepartment of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Inger Schou-BredalDepartment of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeBreast cancer survivors may experience pain, fatigue, or psychological distress as a result of the treatment. These symptoms may co-occur and form a cluster. However little is known about symptom clusters (SCs) in long-term breast cancer survivors. This study aimed to identify subgroups of breast cancer survivors with the SC of pain, fatigue, and psychological distress, and to examine sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with this SC.

methodsData were obtained from a nationwide survey of breast cancer survivors (N = 834). Exhaustive enumeration of possible combination of the three binary variables (pain, fatigue, psychological distress) was conducted. They were identified using the recommended threshold for the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Fatigue Questionnaire, and a score of one or more on a numeric rating scale for pain. The SC was defined to include all the three variables, all other combinations were defined as no SC. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between sociodemographic and clinical variables and the SC.

resultsOf the 834 survivors, 13% had the SC. Younger age (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.3-4.1, p = 0.003), lymphedema (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.2, p = 0.02), working part-time (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.6-5.3, p < 0.001), or being disabled (OR 4.1, 95% CI 2.2-7.8, p < 0.001) were all associated with the SC.

conclusionThirteen percent of the survivors experienced the SC. It appears that premenstrual women are at greater risk, than postmenopausal women. Having this SC might have an impact on the survivors' ability to work.

Indexed as

Cancer SurvivorsPsychological DistressAdultAgedBreast NeoplasmsCancer PainFatigueFemaleHumansMiddle AgedNorwayOdds RatioPrevalencePublic Health SurveillanceSocioeconomic FactorsBreast cancer survivorsFatiguePainPsychological distressSymptom cluster

Identifiers

PMID31938939
PMCPMC7031174

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Registered trials

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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.