Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39075384›Full record

Observational studyBMC palliative care2024

Sexual health-a topic for cancer patients receiving oncological treatment with palliative intent.

Claudia Schmalz, Anne S Oberguggenberger, Eva Nagele, Brigitte Bliem, Anne Lanceley, Andy Nordin, Karin Kuljanic, Pernille T Jensen, Vesna Bjelic-Radisic, Alexander Fabian and 15 more

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMC palliative care, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing 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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Exploring sexual health and function among Malaysian patients with advanced cancer: insights from the EORTC QLQ SH-22 questionnaire.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. 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

25 authors.

Claudia SchmalzDepartment for Radiation Oncology, University Clinic Schleswig Holstein, Campus Kiel, Arnold-Heller Str. 3, Kiel, 24105, Germany. claudia.schmalz@uksh.de.
Anne S OberguggenbergerMedical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Eva NageleMedical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Brigitte BliemMedical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Anne LanceleyUniversity College London, London, UK.
Andy NordinEast Kent Gynaecological Oncology Centre, Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital, Margate Kent, Queen, CT94AN, UK.
Karin KuljanicClinical University Hospital Centre Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia.
Pernille T JensenDepartment of Gynecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Vesna Bjelic-RadisicHelios University Clinic, University Witten/Herdecke, Wuppertal, Germany.
Alexander FabianDepartment for Radiation Oncology, University Clinic Schleswig Holstein, Campus Kiel, Arnold-Heller Str. 3, Kiel, 24105, Germany.
Juan I ArrarasComplejo Hospitalario de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
Chie Wei-ChuInstitute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 100, Taiwan.
Carien L CreutzbergDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.
Razvan GalalaeDepartment for Radiation Oncology, Klinikum Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven, Germany.
Hilde ToelenUniversity Hospitals Leuven, UZ Campus Gasthuisberg, Louvain, Belgium.
Kristin ZimmermannBundeswehrzentralkrankenhaus Koblenz, Klinik Für Urologie, Koblenz, Germany.
Anna CostantiniPsychoncology Unit, Sant'Andrea Universitary Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Thierry AlmontInstitut Universitaire du Cancer, Toulouse, France.
Samantha SerpentiniVeneto Institute of Oncology IOV - IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Ligita Paskeviciute FrødingDepartment of Gynecology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ingvild VistadSørlandet Hospital, Kristiansand, Norway.
Krzysztof A TomaszewskiFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krako´W University, Krako´W, Poland.
Elisabeth InwaldUniversity Medical Center Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
Elfriede GreimelMedical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
EORTC Quality of Life Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesSexuality is an important dimension of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cancer patients. Studies evidence that most patients report impairments of their sexual health related to their disease or its treatment. The Quality of Life Group of the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) developed a patient reported outcome measure assessing multidimensional aspects of sexual health. The validation study for this instrument revealed heterogenous results for patients in palliative oncological treatment. The aim of this secondary analyses is to examine differences in patient related sexual health outcomes between palliative patients with good performance status (GPS) and those with poor performance status (PPS).

methodsIn this observational cohort study, self-reported sexual health issue scores were compared between the two groups of patients in palliative oncological treatment with GPS vs PPS status.

resultsPatients with GPS experienced significantly more sexual satisfaction than patients with PPS (p = 0.015). They reported significantly more treatment effects on their sexual activity (p = 0.005) and suffer more from decreased libido (p = 0.008). Patients with PPS reported significantly more fatigue (p = 0.03) and regarded preservation of sexual activity of higher importance than did patients with GPS (p = 0.049).

conclusionsOur study demonstrates the importance of sexuality for patients in palliative oncological treatment, especially for those with limited performance status. Considering the patients´ perspective, sexual health reaches beyond physical functioning. Patients in a palliative phase of disease report high levels of psychosexual problems while sexual performance deteriorates. Sexuality is an important aspect of HRQOL for these patients, needs to be addressed by health care providers and sensitively integrated into palliative care plans.

Indexed as

NeoplasmsPalliative CareQuality of LifeSexual HealthAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and QuestionnairesNeoplasmsPalliative carePatient reported outcome measurePatient satisfactionSexuality

Identifiers

PMID39075384
PMCPMC11285330

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.