Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38838200›Full record

ArticleJournal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA2024

Effectiveness of early palliative care in patients with head and neck cancer in Taiwan.

Tzu-Chun Chen, Shih-Hao Wang, Cho-Ming Ho, Hwan-Chung Lin, Chun-Liang Tung, Chih-Chia Chang, Ching-Fang Tsai, Tsung-Hsien Chen, Yi-Chun Fang, Wei-Ting Lin and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  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

13 authors.

Tzu-Chun ChenCancer Center, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
Shih-Hao WangDepartment of Otolaryngology, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
Cho-Ming HoDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
Hwan-Chung LinDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
Chun-Liang TungDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
Chih-Chia ChangDepartment of Radiation Therapy and Oncology, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
Ching-Fang TsaiDepartment of Medical Research, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
Tsung-Hsien ChenDepartment of Internal Medicine, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
Yi-Chun FangCancer Center, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
Wei-Ting LinDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
Yu-Ting LeeDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Hemato-Oncology, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
Yu-Sung ChangDepartment of Otolaryngology, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan, ROC.
Ming-Yang LeeMin-Hwei Junior College of Health Care Management, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEarly palliative care (EPC) benefits some cancers, but its clinical outcomes differ depending on patients' racial and ethnic disparities, and customs. To determine whether EPC improves symptoms, emotional distress, and quality of life among Taiwanese patients with early or advanced-stage head and neck cancer (HNC).

methodsBased on participants' pathological stages, they were categorized as having early and advanced-stage HNC. Those willing and unwilling to undergo EPC were assigned to the EPC and standard groups, respectively. Their daily cancer-related symptoms were assessed using the Distress Thermometer (DT) and MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI), whose scores' concurrent validity was evaluated using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Core Quality of Life (EORTC-QLQ-C30) and Head and Neck 35 (EORTC-QLQ-H&N35) questionnaires.

resultsPatients (n = 93) diagnosed with HNC at Taiwan's Chia-Yi Christian Hospital from November 2020 to October 2022 were recruited. The patients voluntarily split into two groups: EPC groups and standard groups (23 and 11 in early-stage; 46 and 13 in advanced-stage, respectively). DT assessment showed significant emotional distress improvements for all patients with HNC who received EPC. The EORTC-QLQ-C30 questionnaire indicated that, compared to standard interventions, EPC groups significantly improved the quality of life and some symptoms for both early and advanced-stage HNC patients. However, the EORTC-QLQ-H&N35 questionnaire found no significant difference between the two groups. Furthermore, advanced-stage patients' anticancer treatment completion rates with EPC and standard interventions were 95.35% and 75%, respectively.

conclusionEPC improves symptoms, emotional distress, quality of life, and treatment completion rates in Taiwanese patients with early or advanced-stage HNC. Nonetheless, further extensive clinical studies are required for validation.

Indexed as

Head and Neck NeoplasmsPalliative CareQuality of LifeAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and QuestionnairesTaiwan

Identifiers

PMID38838200
PMCPMC12718857

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.