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Table 2 Evidence profiles for selected health outcomes related to intensive vs. standard follow-up in breast cancer patients

From: Intensive follow-up for women with breast cancer: review of clinical, economic and patient’s preference domains through evidence to decision framework

Quality assessment No. of patients Effect Quality Importance
No. of studies Study design Risk of bias Inconsistency Indirectness Imprecision Other considerations Intensive follow-up Non-intensive follow-up Relative (95% CI) Absolute (95% CI)
10-year overall mortality in women with breast cancer
1 RCT not serious not serious not serious not serious none 222/622 (35.7%) 212/621 (34.1%) RR 1.05 17 more per 1000 ⨁⨁⨁⨁ CRITICAL
Palli 1999 (0.90 to 1.22) (from 34 fewer to 75 more) HIGH
5-year overall mortality in women with breast cancer
3 RCT not serious not serious not serious not serious none 277/1520 (18.2%) 277/1515 (18.3%) RR 1.00 0 fewer per 1000 ⨁⨁⨁⨁ CRITICAL
Rosselli del Turco 1994 (0.86 to 1.16) (from 26 fewer to 29 more) HIGH
GIVIO 1994    
Kokko 2003
5-year recurrence of breast cancer
3 RCT serious1 not serious not serious not serious none 460/1520 (30.3%) 414/1515 (27.3%) RR 1.08 22 more per 1000 ⨁⨁⨁ ◯ CRITICAL
Rosselli del Turco 1994 (0.89 to 1.30) (from 30 fewer to 82 more) MODERATE
GIVIO 1994    
Kokko 2003
Any time recurrence of breast cancer (follow up: range 1 to 5 years)
5 RCT serious1 not serious not serious not serious none 475/1609 (29.5%) 427/1608 (26.6%) RR 1.10 27 more per 1000 ⨁⨁⨁ ◯ CRITICAL
Rosselli del Turco 1994 (0.95 to 1.27) (from 13 fewer to 72 more) MODERATE
GIVIO 1994    
Brown 2002
Kokko 2003
Oltra 2007
Satisfaction of women with the type of follow-up - Reassurance (follow-up: range 1 to 3 years)
2 RCT serious1 very serious2 not serious not serious none 92/127 (72.4%) 72/127 (56.7%) RR 1.28 159 more per 1000 ⨁ ◯◯◯ IMPORTANT
Brown 2002 (1.07 to 1.54) (from 40 more to 306 more) VERY LOW
Gulliford 1997    
Satisfaction of women with the type of follow-up - Convenience (follow-up: mean 1 year)
1 RCT serious1 not serious not serious not serious none 1/31 (3.2%) 22/30 (73.3%) RR 0.04 704 fewer per 1000 ⨁ ⨁◯◯ IMPORTANT
Brown 2002 (0.01 to 0.31) (from 506 fewer to 726 fewer) LOW
  1. Legend: Abbreviations: RCT: Randomised clinical trial; CI: Confidence interval; RR: Risk Ratio; HR: Hazard Ratio. Notes: 1The quality of evidence was downgraded because studies were not blinded; 2The quality of evidence was downgraded due to important heterogeneity
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Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

ISSN: 1477-7525

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