Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32349988›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of hospital pharmacy : science and practice2021

Exploring the adverse effects of chemotherapeutic agents used in the treatment of cervical and ovarian cancer from the patients' perspective: a content analysis of the online discussion forums.

Sulaf Assi, Megan Barling, Abdullah Al-Hamid, Ejaz Cheema

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of hospital pharmacy : science and practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 30% 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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Anticancer Evaluation of Methoxy Poly(Ethylene Glycol)-International journal of nanomedicine · 2023
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
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 at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Sulaf AssiLiverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, Merseyside, UK.
Megan BarlingBournemouth University, Poole, Dorset, UK.
Abdullah Al-HamidSchool of Pharmacy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Ejaz CheemaSchool of Pharmacy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK E.Cheema@bham.ac.uk.
University of Birmingham · GBBournemouth University · GBLiverpool John Moores University · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study aimed to explore the adverse effects of chemotherapeutic agents used in the treatment of ovarian and cervical cancer by analysing patients' views posted in online discussion forums.

methodUK-centred online discussion forums were used to identify discussion threads on ovarian and cervical cancer between 2008 and 2017. The study was approved by the University of Bournemouth ethics committee. 272 discussion threads with 644 participants from four online discussion forums (Cancer Research UK, Macmillan, Ovacome and Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust) were identified. The threads were exported into NVivo and a thematic content analysis was conducted to identify study themes.

resultsOf the 644 participants, 19.4% had a diagnosis of cervical cancer and 80.6% had a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Four main themes related to: (1) treatment plan, (2) adverse effects, (3) perception of treatment and (4) hospitalisation were identified. Patients' perceptions about their treatment were reported to be positive across all chemotherapeutic agents. 312 adverse effects were reported by patients with cervical cancer taking cisplatin, with fatigue (52.1%) and nausea (30.6%) being the two most frequently reported adverse effects. With regard to the treatment of ovarian cancer, 402 adverse effects were reported by patients on carboplatin and paclitaxel, with neuropathy (29.3%) and fatigue (28.0%) being the two most commonly reported adverse effects.

conclusionThe online discussion forums allowed patients to express their concerns in a blame-free environment that provided novel insight into the impact of chemotherapy-associated adverse effects on patients with cervical and ovarian cancers. Real-life experiences shared by patients can help the healthcare professionals to find the right balance between prolonged survival and quality of life.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic AgentsDrug-Related Side Effects and Adverse ReactionsOvarian NeoplasmsHealth PersonnelHumansQuality of LifeAntineoplastic Agentsadult oncologyadverse effectsclinical pharmacyhospital pharmacy educationoncology

Identifiers

PMID32349988
PMCPMC8640430
OpenAlexW3022449413

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.