Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32948629›Full record

ArticleESMO open2020

Retrospective analysis of the prevalence of specialised palliative care services for patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Eva Maria Jäger, Martin Filipits, Anna Glechner, Elisabeth Zwickl-Traxler, Gabriele Schmoranzer, Martin Pecherstorfer, Gudrun Kreye

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ESMO open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Impact of the implementation of an embedded palliative care model in the continuum of care for patients with metastatic breast cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Observational
  2. 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

7 authors.

Eva Maria JägerKarl Landsteiner Privatuniversitat fur Gesundheitswissenschaften, Krems, Austria.
Martin FilipitsDepartment of Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria.
Anna GlechnerDepartment for Evidence-based Medicine and Evaluation, Danube University Krems, Krems, Austria.
Elisabeth Zwickl-TraxlerDepartment of Internal Medicine 2, UH Krems, Krems, Austria.
Gabriele SchmoranzerDepartment of Internal Medicine 2, UH Krems, Krems, Austria.
Martin PecherstorferDepartment of Internal Medicine 2, UH Krems, Krems, Austria.
Gudrun KreyeDepartment of Internal Medicine 2, UH Krems, Krems, Austria. Electronic address: gudrun.kreye@krems.lknoe.at.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) have a considerable symptom burden and may require extensive care for a long period of time. Palliative care (PC) has the potential to improve their quality of care and reduce their use of medical services. However, the role of specialised PC (SPC) in patients with MBC remains unclear. PATIENTS AND

methodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients diagnosed with breast cancer (BC) from 2008 to 2018 at an university-based referral centre to examine the extent of early and late integration of SPC services for patients with MBC. A descriptive analysis of the patients was also established.

resultsIn all, 932 patients were diagnosed with BC from 2008 to 2018; 225 of these patients had or developed metastases related to their BC. In addition, 132 patients received SPC (58.7%) and 93 patients did not receive SPC (41.3%). The median probability of overall survival (OS) for patients who did not receive SPC services was 3.6 years (95% CI 2.0 to 5.1) and 1.8 years (95% CI 1.3 to 2.3) (p<0.0001) for patients who did receive SPC. In multivariate analysis, referral to SPC services was independently associated with OS (HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.22, p=0.004).

conclusionPatients who received SPC lived significantly shorter amounts of time than patients not referred for SPC services at our hospital. We concluded that the referral to SPC services was often too late and should be implemented earlier in the course of the disease. We suggest that patients with MBC should participate in a consultation by a SPC team ≤60 days after the start of systemic palliative anticancer therapy in addition to endocrine treatment. Larger prospective studies are needed to evaluate the benefit of the early integration of SPC services for patients with MBC.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsPalliative CareFemaleHumansPrevalenceReferral and ConsultationRetrospective Studiesmetastatic breast cancerpalliative carespecialized palliative care

Identifiers

PMID32948629
PMCPMC7511635

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