Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39781572›Full record

ArticleCancer medicine2025

Pretreatment Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients: Comparison With Healthy Controls and Associations With Biopsychosocial Variables.

Patricia Blickle, Martina E Schmidt, Karen Steindorf

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer medicine, 2025. 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

3 authors.

Patricia BlickleDivision of Physical Activity, Prevention and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9260-5610
Martina E SchmidtDivision of Physical Activity, Prevention and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2095-2426
Karen SteindorfDivision of Physical Activity, Prevention and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5215-5651

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveCancer-related fatigue is one of the most common burdens of cancer patients. To date, most studies focused on fatigue during or after treatment. However, investigation of pretreatment fatigue is crucial to identify causal or risk factors other than cancer therapy and to enable timely fatigue management.

methodsTwo hundred and thirty-two breast cancer patients (mean age = 55.6) and 41 healthy participants (mean age = 49.3) were recruited via the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed with the EORTC QLQ-FA12 for fatigue, the EORTC QLQ-C30 for functioning, the STAI for anxiety, the CESD-R for depression and the PSQI for sleep disturbance. Descriptive analyses and logistic regression models were performed using baseline data before start of cancer treatment. The thresholds of clinical importance (TCI) were applied to test for clinically relevant fatigue.

resultsCompared to the healthy participants, patients scored significantly higher in physical, emotional, and total fatigue, in depression, in global health status and in all functioning scales except cognitive function (all p < 0.01). 48.7% of all patients reported clinically relevant fatigue. Being younger, being obese, having low education, or low social support was associated with a higher likelihood of clinically relevant fatigue before treatment. Higher depression and anxiety scores, poorer sleep quality and global health status, and impaired functioning seemed to get along with an increased likelihood of scoring above the TCI of fatigue (all p < 0.001).

conclusionsOur study results suggest that fatigue screening, patient-centered fatigue education and psychosocial support may be needed already from the time of cancer diagnosis.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsFatigueAdultAgedAnxietyCase-Control StudiesDepressionFemaleHumansMiddle AgedPatient Reported Outcome MeasuresQuality of LifeRisk FactorsSurveys and Questionnairesbreast cancer patientscancercancer‐related fatigueoncologypatient‐reported outcomespretreatment fatiguepsychological factorspsycho‐oncologyquality of lifesupportive care

Identifiers

PMID39781572
PMCPMC11712150

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.