Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39621134›Full record

ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2024

Unapproved and unproven cancer treatments in patients admitted to palliative care units.

Hideko Akagi, Noriyuki Katsumata, Kozue Suzuki, Kento Masukawa, Tatsuya Morita, Yoshiyuki Kizawa, Satoru Tsuneto, Yasuo Shima, Mitsunori Miyashita

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Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

9 authors.

Hideko AkagiDepartment of Medical Oncology, Nippon Medical School Musashi-Kosugi Hospital, 1-396 Kosugi-Cho, Nakahara-Ku, Kawasaki-Shi, Kanagawa, 211-8533, Japan. h-akagi@nms.ac.jp.
Noriyuki KatsumataDepartment of Medical Oncology, Nippon Medical School Musashi-Kosugi Hospital, 1-396 Kosugi-Cho, Nakahara-Ku, Kawasaki-Shi, Kanagawa, 211-8533, Japan.
Kozue SuzukiDepartment of Palliative Care, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center Komagome Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Kento MasukawaDepartment of Palliative Nursing, Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
Tatsuya MoritaDepartment of Palliative and Supportive Care Division, Seirei Mikatahara General Hospital, Hamamatsu, Japan.
Yoshiyuki KizawaDepartment of Palliative and Supportive Care, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
Satoru TsunetoDepartment of Palliative Medicine, Palliative Care Center, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Yasuo ShimaDepartment of Palliative Medicine, Tsukuba Medical Center Hospital, Tsukuba, Japan.
Mitsunori MiyashitaDepartment of Palliative Nursing, Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo clarify the current use of unapproved and unproven cancer treatment (UUCT) among the bereaved families of patients with cancer who died in palliative care units, the financial burden and psychological experiences of the families, and the relationship between patients in palliative care who used UUCT and communication with their physicians'.

methodsThis study was conducted as part of a cross-sectional, anonymous nationwide survey of the bereaved family members of cancer patients who died in palliative care unit in Japan.

resultsQuestionnaires were sent to 1,039 bereaved family members, and responses were received from 661 (64%). Of these, 558 were included in the study after excluding the 103 who did not complete the questionnaire. A total of 7.3% (41 of 558) of patients received UUCT. Of these, 34% (14 of 41) of patients were informed that the treatment was in the research phase, and 49% (20 of 41) were informed that the efficacy of the treatment was unknown. Regarding expectations for UUCT, 61% (25/41) expected to be cured, and 80% (33/41) expected it to slow disease progression. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) was associated with receiving UUCT (p = 0.024), and patients who could discuss CAM with their doctors tended to receive UUCT (p = 0.054).

conclusionPatients in palliative care unit who expect to cure tended to receive UUCT. These results highlight the challenge of telling patients that UUCT is ineffective and informing them of their prognosis and severe medical conditions.

Indexed as

FamilyNeoplasmsPalliative CareAdultAgedAged, 80 and overBereavementCommunicationCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansJapanLogistic ModelsMaleMiddle AgedMultivariate AnalysisCancerComplementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)Palliative careUnapproved and unproven cancer treatment (UUCT)

Identifiers

PMID39621134

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.