Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37082898›Full record

SynthesisCancer control : journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center

Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review of the Qualitative Studies.

Zohreh Heidary, Marjan Ghaemi, Batool Hossein Rashidi, Omid Kohandel Gargari, Ali Montazeri

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Cancer control : journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
59citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
–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

59 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Health-related quality of life domains relevant to people in Europe undergoing cancer treatment: a systematic review of qualitative research.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
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  17. Factors associated with health-related quality of life in survivors of childhood-onset and adult-onset cancer compared to controls.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
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  20. Development and content validation of spiritual care e-book for Chinese breast cancer women undergoing chemotherapy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
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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

5 authors.

Zohreh HeidaryVali-E-Asr Reproductive Health Research Center, Family Health Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Marjan GhaemiVali-E-Asr Reproductive Health Research Center, Family Health Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0003-2306-7112
Batool Hossein RashidiVali-E-Asr Reproductive Health Research Center, Family Health Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Omid Kohandel GargariAlborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.
Ali MontazeriHealth Metric Research Center, Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveQuality of life (QoL) in breast cancer patients is still an important topic. Despite numerous quantitative scales, qualitative studies can help to in-depth understand the QoL of breast cancer patients. The purpose of this systematic review was to integrate qualitative studies on the QoL of women with breast cancer.

methodsA literature search was performed in electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science from January 1, 2010 until June 28, 2022 to find out qualitative studies assessing breast cancer patient's QoL. Two authors independently evaluated methodological quality according to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist. Data were extracted and reported by themes for cancer-free women and patients with metastatic cancer separately.

resultsIn all, 1565 citations were retrieved. After removing 1387 duplicate and irrelevant papers, the full texts of 27 articles were reviewed and finally, 9 were eligible for evaluation. In quality checking of the citations, all articles gained the required quality score. After examining and merging similar topics, nine major themes were extracted. Physical, spiritual, and psychological aspects of QoL were the common issues in cancer-free women (before and after the COVID-19 pandemic) and patients with metastatic cancer. Perception of cancer and social life were the other main concerns in cancer-free women, whereas, in metastatic patients' overall survival and planning for the future and their children's life was the focus of interest. Women with metastatic disease showed more vulnerability in coping compared to cancer-free women.

conclusionThis review provides an opportunity to have a closer look into the several domains of QoL in women with breast cancer. In-depth information provided by this review might help to develop interventions for patients and their families to support women to cope much better with their life challenges.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsCOVID-19ChildFemaleHumansPandemicsQualitative ResearchQuality of Lifebreast cancerqualitative studyquality of life

Identifiers

PMID37082898
PMCPMC10236425

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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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.