SynthesisBMC complementary medicine and therapies2024
Reflexology in oncological treatment - a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 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
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of manual interventions on overall symptoms, pain and quality of life in patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAs cancer and its therapy comes with a wide range of negative effects, people look for options to mitigate these effects. Reflexology is among the options of complementary medicine.
methodIn March 2022 a systematic search was conducted searching five electronic databases (Embase, Cochrane, PsychInfo, CINAHL and Medline) to find studies concerning the use, effectiveness and potential harm of reflexology on cancer patients.
resultsFrom all 821 search results, 29 publications concerning 26 studies with 2465 patients were included in this systematic review. The patients treated with reflexology were mainly diagnosed with breast, lung, gastrointestinal and hematological cancer. Outcomes were mainly pain, quality of life, anxiety, depression, fatigue. The studies had moderate to low quality and reported heterogeneous results: Some studies reported significant improvements in above mentioned outcomes while other studies did not find any changes concerning these endpoints.
conclusionDue to the very heterogeneous results and methodical limitations of the included studies, a clear statement regarding the effectiveness of reflexology on cancer patients is not possible. The current evidence indicates that reflexology is superior to passive control groups for pain, quality of life and fatigue, however, more studies with comparable active control groups are needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.