Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33974201›Full record

ArticleBreast cancer (Tokyo, Japan)2021

Genitourinary symptoms in women with breast cancer: what do oncology health professionals think and do about them?

Antonia Pearson, Haryana M Dhillon, Belinda E Kiely

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Article in Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing 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

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Genitourinary symptoms in women with breast cancer: frequency, severity and impact.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
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  3. Review
  4. Article
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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.

Antonia PearsonSydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia. Antonia.pearson@sydney.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6966-5586
Haryana M DhillonCentre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-Based Decision-Making, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
Belinda E KielyNHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesWe aimed to improve understanding of health professional knowledge and management of genitourinary symptoms (GUS) in women with early breast cancer (EBC).

methodsA survey was sent to 872 health professionals caring for women with EBC. Questions addressed most common GUS seen, experience treating GUS, and attitudes to treatment options.

results144 surveys were completed. Respondent characteristics: median age 50 years; 76% female; 42% medical oncologists; 24% nurses; 20% breast surgeons; 8% radiation oncologists. Most (68%) reported prescribing endocrine therapies for EBC, 99% were aware endocrine therapies can cause GUS, and 55% reported "often" or "always" asking patients on endocrine therapy if they have GUS. Respondents thought vaginal dryness was the most bothersome symptom for their patients (66%), followed by dyspareunia (11%). 81% of respondents reported seeing women stop endocrine therapy prematurely due to GUS. Respondents reported receiving "none" (19%) or "a little" (46%) training or education in managing GUS and only 16% reported feeling "very confident" managing GUS. The proportions of respondents reporting "often" and "very often" recommending the following vaginal treatments were: lubricants (81%); moisturisers (68%); oestrogens (21%); and laser (3%). Vaginal oestrogens were considered "safe" or "probably safe" by 77% and 90% of respondents for women with hormone receptor positive and negative EBC, respectively.

conclusionsDespite health professionals frequently encountering GUS in women with EBC and seeing patients stop endocrine therapies prematurely, only 16% felt confident managing these symptoms. Education and training for health professionals are needed to better address this common problem.

Indexed as

Attitude of Health PersonnelHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeAdultAgedBreast NeoplasmsEstrogensFemaleFemale Urogenital DiseasesHumansMaleMedical OncologyMiddle AgedQuality of LifeSurveys and QuestionnairesEstrogensBreast cancerGenitourinary syndrome of menopauseVaginal atrophyVaginal oestrogen

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.