SynthesisBMC cancer2020
The impact on quality of life from informing diagnosis in patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC cancer, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- COPD-Related Anxiety: A Systematic Review of Patient Perspectives.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2023Pooled it
- Family Disclosure of a Cancer Diagnosis to Patients.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- A Retrospective Review of Antimicrobial Usage and Indications at End-of-Life for Oncology Patients in a Tertiary Cancer Center in Saudi Arabia.Saudi medical journal · 2026Article
- A Qualitative Study on the Psychological Experience of Lung Cancer Patients During the Perioperative Period.Cancer management and research · 2026Article
- Cancer patients' awareness of extent of disease: anxiety, depression, quality of life.BMJ supportive & palliative care · 2025Article
- Suicide Risk in Digestive Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review of Sociodemographic, Psychological, and Clinical Predictors.Cancers · 2025Review
- Global research trends and hotspots on smoking and lung cancer from 1994-2023: A bibliometric analysis.Tobacco induced diseases · 2024Article
- Maladaptive coping styles moderate the relationship between information on cancer treatment and psychosocial symptoms: an Italian multicenter study.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Validation of self-reported morbidities in the Korean Atomic Bomb Survivor Cohort.Epidemiology and health · 2024Article
- Quality of Life in Female Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors in a South African Municipality.Breast cancer : basic and clinical research · 2024Article
- Adult cancer patients' barriers to and satisfaction with care at a National Cancer Hospital in Vietnam.PloS one · 2024Article
- Quality of breaking bad news to patients diagnosed with neoplasia of the uterine cervix.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2023Article
- Communication in Cancer Care in Asia: A Narrative Review.JCO global oncology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe aim of this study was to assess the impact on quality of life from informing patients with cancer of their diagnosis and disease status.
methodWe searched the follow databases, PubMed, CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), PsycINFO, WEB OF SCIENCE, Embase, CBM (Chinese Biomedical Literature database), WANFANG database (Chinese Medicine Premier), and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), using the following terms: neoplasm, cancer, tumor, tumor, carcinoma, disclosure, truth telling, breaking bad news, knowledge, knowing, awareness, quality of life, QOL. Pairs of reviewers independently screened documents and extracted the data, and the meta-analysis was performed using Revman 5.0 software.
resultsEleven thousand seven hundred forty records retrieved from the databases and 23 studies were included in the final analysis. A meta-analysis revealed that there were no differences in either the general quality of life and symptoms of fatigue, pain, dyspnea, insomnia, appetite loss, and diarrhea, between informed and uniformed cancer patients (P > 0.05). There were also no differences found between the patient groups in physical function, role function, cognitive activity, and emotional function (P > 0.05). In terms of vitality, patients who were completely informed about their diagnosis showed higher vitality than uniformed patients. Uninformed patients seemed to have lower social function scores. Between partly informed and uninformed cancer patients, no differences were found in their general quality of life, function domains, and disease-related symptoms (P > 0.05).
conclusionInforming cancer patients of their diagnosis may not have a detrimental effect on their quality of life.
trial registrationCRD42017060073 .
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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.