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Table 1 A list of reviews on measurement issue and quality of life in breast cancer patients (2008–2018)

From: Health-related quality of life in breast cancer patients: review of reviews from 2008 to 2018

Authors [References]

Year

Main focus

Description/analysis

No. of databases

No. of included studies

Performed QA

Risk of bias assessment

Result(s)

Chen et al. [10]

2010

Patient-reported outcome measures for oncologic breast surgery

Systematic review

8

NA

No

No

Reliable and valid instruments exist, but even the best instruments do not address all important surgery‐specific and psychometric issues

Winters et al. [11]

2010

Treatment recommendations in breast reconstruction based on patient-reported outcome measures and HRQOL

Systematic review

4

34

Yes

No

Sound scientific methodology in HRQOL is undermined by poorly designed and underpowered studies

There is a pressing need for further longitudinal studies in breast reconstruction incorporating sensitive and condition-specific patient-report outcome measures; provide adequate sample sizes, and respect established guidelines for rigorous HRQOL methodology

Lemieux et al. [12]

2011

QOL measurement in RCTs

An updated systematic review

PubMed

190

No

No

Reporting of QOL methodology should improve

Reed et al. [13]

2012

QOL assessments in advanced breast cancer

Review

PubMed

51

No

No

There should be more consensuses on which QOL instruments are used

Chopra and Kamal [14]

2012

QOL instruments in long-term BCS

Systematic review

5

19

No

No

The use of validated instruments will not only provide valid data but also help improve the quality of care in long-term BCS

Adamowicz et al. [15]

2012

Assessment of HRQOL parameters as end points in phase III trials in advanced BC

Review

NA

34

No

No

HRQOL evaluation in clinical trials has the potential to predict patient prognosis and serves as a useful tool to assess patients’ experience during cancer therapy

Pusic et al. [16]

2013

Patient-reported outcome instruments and outcomes in breast cancer patients with lymphedema

Systematic review

NA

39

Yes

No

The Upper Limb Lymphedema 27 (ULL-27) was found to have strong psychometric properties. Future studies should strive to use high-quality condition- specific PRO instruments, follow existing guidelines for HRQOL measurement

Niu HY et al. [17]

2014

Validity, reliability and responsiveness of breast cancer-specific HRQL instruments

Review

3

4

Yes

No

The EORTC QLQ-BR23, FACT-B, FACT-ES, and HFRDIS had fairly good psychometric properties to assess HRQOL

Nguyen et al. [18]

2015

Effectiveness of EORTC QLQ-BR23 and FACT-B

Review

3

NA

No

No

Both questionnaires were effective in assessing QOL. Decision-making between the questionnaires depends on the study’s purpose and design

Oliveira et al. [19]

2015

The procedures of translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and measurement properties of breast cancer-specific QOL questionnaires

Systematic review

4

24

Yes

No

Caution should be exercised when using breast cancer-specific QOL questionnaires that have been translated, adapted, and tested

Maratia et al. [20]

2016

Evaluation of available specific and generic breast cancer HRQOL instruments

Systematic review

2

32

Yes

No

The EORTC BR-23, IBCSG, SF-36, and WHO-QOL BREF had good performance, depending on the purpose of the study

Ghislain et al. [21]

2016

HRQOL in locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer: reporting of methodological and clinical issues in RCTs

Systematic review

PubMed

49

Yes

No

The absence of the HRQOL research hypotheses and the overemphasis on statistical rather than clinical significance was the main problem

Turner-Bowker et al. [22]

2016

Patient-reported outcomes in advanced breast cancer clinical trials

Systematic review

3

25

No

No

Patient-reported outcomes may be used to provide a more comprehensive perspective of the benefits and risks from treatment

Krohe et a l [23]

2016

PRO in metastatic breast cancer: a review of industry-sponsored clinical trials

Review

Clinicaltrial.gov

38

No

No

Stakeholders turn more attention to the patient perspective; one would expect PROs to increase as complementary measures to traditional endpoints and become an even more critical part of treatment evaluation

Pe et al. [24]

2018

Patient-reported outcome data in randomized controlled trials of locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer

Review

PubMed

66

No

No

A need to improve standards in the analysis, interpretation, and reporting of Patient-reported outcome and quality of life data in cancer RCTs

Liu et al. [25]

2018

BREAST-Q measurement of the patient perspective in oncoplastic breast surgery

Systematic review

4

54

Yes

No

BREAST-Q can effectively measure patient's satisfaction and HRQOL in relation to different type of breast oncoplastic surgeries. BREAST-Q captured meaningful and reliable information from the patients' perspective and may be useful for clinical decision-making

Tevis et al. [26]

2018

Patient-reported outcomes for breast cancer

Review

Not specified

123

No

No

The implementation of PROs can be complex and challenging and care must be taken to minimize the potential for survey fatigue by patients and the potential financial burden for implementation, maintenance, and analyses of collected data

  1. QA quality appraisal, NA not available, QOL quality of life, HRQO health-related quality of life, PRO patient-reported outcomes, RCTs randomized clinical trials, EORTC QLQ-C30 the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core, FACT-B The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast quality-of-life, EORTC QLQ-BR23 the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life core breast cancer, HFRDIS Hot Flash Related Daily Interference Scale, IBCSG the International Breast Cancer Study Group, SF-36 The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, WHO-QOL BREF World Health Organization Quality of Life Instruments, FACT-ES Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Endocrine Subscale, BREAST-Q patient-reported outcome measure for breast surgery