SynthesisWomen's health (London, England)
Benefits of breast self-examinations for medically underserved populations: A systematic review.
Synthesis in Women's health (London, England). The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 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
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Relationship Between Climate Change and Breast Cancer and Its Management and Preventative Implications in South Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Modeling breast cancer screening hesitancy among Chinese women: integrating the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice, health belief, and 5 C frameworks.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Breast Cancer Knowledge, Awareness and Screening Practices Among Female Healthcare Workers in Al-Mukalla, Yemen.Sultan Qaboos University medical journal · 2026Article
- Lower-Cost Nonsurgical Primary Prevention Strategies for Women at High Risk of Breast Cancer: A Scoping Review.The breast journal · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBreast self-examination (BSE) was previously recommended to help early-stage breast cancer detection to improve prognosis. However, BSE is not recommended in the United States anymore due to the findings that it fails to significantly decrease mortality while increasing biopsy cases, causing unnecessary harm. Nonetheless, international researchers have continued to investigate the benefits of BSE in medically underserved regions. These studies raise the possibility that BSE could be beneficial in rural America, where people face higher mortality from chronic diseases compared to the general population.
objectivesDetermine if BSE has benefits for medically underserved populations to inform a potential reevaluation of breast cancer screening recommendations.
designSystematic review. DATA SOURCES AND
methodsA systematic review was conducted using a set of terms to identify articles on breast cancer survival and BSE in rural and/or underserved populations within the past 10 years. The search yielded over 200 articles across 3 databases (PubMed, CINAHL, and SCOPUS), and they were further screened to include studies that show rural populations performing BSE, effects of BSE in breast cancer diagnosis and/or mortality of breast cancer patients, factors contributing to the efficacy of BSE, factors that affect women's willingness to perform BSE, and effects of BSE on breast cancer awareness/behaviors to seek further screening.
resultsThe final synthesis from 12 articles suggests that BSE is associated with early breast cancer detection (4/12), increased accessibility to breast cancer screening (2/12), and positively influence women to seek further breast cancer screening in rural populations (3/12). It also identifies a potential need for improved education on breast cancer and screening, including BSE practices, to promote early breast cancer detection (3/12).
conclusionThe reevaluation of the current recommendations to determine if exceptions should be made to specific populations would be helpful in addressing late detection and poor prognosis in medically underserved populations.
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.