Trial reportBMJ open2021
Role of physiotherapy in supporting recovery from breast cancer treatment: a qualitative study embedded within the UK PROSPER trial.
Trial report in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06699875 (Comparative Study of the Effectiveness Between Models of Conventional Therapy vs Telerehabilitation With TRAK in Patients Undergoing Axillary Lymph Node Removal), which is not on this map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Comparative Study of the Effectiveness Between Models of Conventional Therapy vs Telerehabilitation With TRAK in Patients Undergoing Axillary Lymph Node Removal (Axillary Lymphadenectomy) as Part of Therapy Against Breast Cancer.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prescribing pre- and post-operative physical activity interventions for people undergoing breast cancer surgery: A qualitative systematic review.Cancer medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Effectiveness of an individualised treatment plan compared with a standard exercise programme in women with late-term shoulder impairments after primary breast cancer treatment: a randomised controlled trial.Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden) · 2025Trial
- Exercise versus usual care after non-reconstructive breast cancer surgery (UK PROSPER): multicentre randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021Trial
- Association Between Danish Guideline Treatments for Breast Cancer and Physiotherapy-Relevant Late Effects: A Nationwide Cohort Study.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026Article
- The relationship between impaired upper-body function, quality of life and breast cancer-related lymphoedema: results from a prospective, population-based cohort study.Breast cancer research and treatment · 2026Article
- Postmastectomy Pain Syndrome: A Narrative Review.Cureus · 2023Review
- Association of social service counseling in breast cancer patients with financial problems, role functioning and employment-results from the prospective multicenter BRENDA II study.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2023Article
- Long-Term Shoulder Dysfunction After Breast and Axillary Surgery: Impact of Surgical Extent and Predictors of Function.ANZ journal of surgeryObservational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo explore the experiences of women with breast cancer taking part in an early physiotherapy-led exercise intervention compared with the experiences of those receiving usual care. To understand physiotherapists' experience of delivering the trial intervention. To explore acceptability of the intervention and issues related to the implementation of the Prevention Of Shoulder Problems (PROSPER) programme from participant and physiotherapist perspective.
designQualitative semistructured interviews with thematic analysis.
settingUK National Health Service.
participantsTwenty participants at high risk of shoulder problems after breast cancer surgery recruited to the UK PROSPER trial (10 each from the intervention arm and control arm), and 11 physiotherapists who delivered the intervention. Trial participants were sampled using convenience sampling. Physiotherapists were purposively sampled from high and low recruiting sites.
resultsParticipants described that the PROSPER exercise intervention helped them feel confident in what their body could do and helped them regain a sense of control in the context of cancer treatment, which was largely disempowering. Control arm participants expressed less of a sense of control over their well-being. Physiotherapists found the exercise intervention enjoyable to deliver and felt it was valuable to their patients. The extra time allocated for appointments during intervention delivery made physiotherapists feel they were providing optimal care, being the 'perfect physio'. Lessons were learnt about the implementation of a complex exercise intervention for women with breast cancer, and the issues raised will inform the development of a future implementation strategy.
conclusionsA physiotherapist-delivered early supported exercise intervention with integrated behavioural strategies helped women at risk of shoulder problems following breast cancer treatment to feel more confident in their ability to mobilise their arm post-surgery. A physiotherapist-delivered early supported exercise intervention with integrated behavioural strategies may address the sense of powerlessness that many women experience during breast cancer treatment.
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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.