anurajms/meta_analysis huggingface dataset:
primary outcome:
Transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation followed by three‐dimensional conformal radiotherapy versus transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation alone for primary hepatocellular carcinoma in adults
All‐cause mortality (death from any cause). We calculated one‐year, two‐year, and three‐year all‐cause mortality. We drew primary conclusions based on three‐year all‐cause mortality, as the longer the follow‐up period, the stronger the evidence.Proportion of participants without tumour response: according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Handbook for reporting the results of cancer treatment (Spieth 2003), the responses were assessed as follows:complete response (CR), complete disappearance or 100% necrosis of all tumours with no evidence of new lesions;partial response (PR), more than 50% reduction or more than 50% necrosis (or both) of all measurable lesions with no evidence of new lesions;progressive disease (PD), more than 25% enlargement of all measurable lesions or appearance of new lesions;stable disease (SD), no change.Serious adverse events: we used the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice's definition of a serious adverse event (ICH‐GCP 1997); that was, any untoward medical occurrence that resulted in death, was life threatening, required hospitalisation or prolongation of existing hospitalisation, resulted in persistent or significant disability or incapacity, or was a congenital anomaly or birth defect. We considered all other adverse events as non‐serious.
primary outcome:
Nerve‐sparing radical hysterectomy compared to standard radical hysterectomy for women with early stage cervical cancer (stage Ia2 to IIa)
Overall survival: survival until death from all causes. Survival assessed from the time when women were enrolled in the study.Rate of intermittent self‐catheterisation (ISC) at one month after the operation.Quality of life: assessed using a scale that has been validated through reporting of norms in a peer‐reviewed publication, i.e. EORTC QLQ‐CX24 cervical cancer‐specific quality of life questionnaire (Greimel 2006).
primary outcome:
De‐intensified adjuvant (chemo)radiotherapy versus standard adjuvant chemoradiotherapy post transoral minimally invasive surgery for resectable HPV‐positive oropharyngeal carcinoma
Overall survival/total mortality (disease‐related mortality was also to be studied if possible).Disease‐free survival.
primary outcome:
Exercise interventions for people undergoing multimodal cancer treatment that includes surgery
Physical fitness (aerobic fitness measured by: VO2 max, 6‐minute walk distance test (MWD), 12 MWD, maximal short exercise capacity test, endurance time test, step test; strength (upper and lower body) measured by: grip strength test, chest press test, pull down test, elbow flexion test, 1‐repetition max (1‐RM), leg press test, 30‐second chair‐stand test, knee extension test and; physical activity (physical activity monitors or questionnaires).
primary outcome:
Anti‐angiogenic therapy for high‐grade glioma
Overall survival, defined as time from randomisation to death.
primary outcome:
Survival differences with immediate versus delayed chemotherapy for asymptomatic incurable metastatic colorectal cancer
1.0 Overall survival; defined as time from randomisation to death from any cause, or to the end of follow‐up
primary outcome:
Moxibustion for alleviating side effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy in people with cancer
Incidence and severity of chemotherapy‐ or radiotherapy‐related toxicities, as reported according to internationally accepted criteria for common toxicities (e.g. World Health Organization (WHO) (Miller 1981), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), or National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria for adverse effects)
primary outcome:
Laparoscopy versus laparotomy for the management of early stage endometrial cancer
Overall survival (OS): survival until death from all causes. Survival was assessed from the time when women were enrolled in the trial.Recurrence free survival (RFS): length of time after treatment during which a woman survived with no sign of disease recurrence.
primary outcome:
Extended‐field radiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer
Overall survival (OS): survival until death from all causes. Survival was assessed from the time when women were enrolled in the study.Para‐aortic lymph node recurrence: any relapse or persistent disease at the para‐aortic region.
primary outcome:
Taxane‐based chemohormonal therapy for metastatic hormone‐sensitive prostate cancer
Time to death due to any cause.Grade III to V adverse events.
primary outcome:
Epidermal growth factor receptor blockers for the treatment of ovarian cancer
Overall survival: survival until death from all causes
primary outcome:
Exercise for reducing falls in people living with and beyond cancer
Rates of falls and number of fallers measured prospectively or reported (retrospectively).
primary outcome:
Type II or type III radical hysterectomy compared to chemoradiotherapy as a primary intervention for stage IB2 cervical cancer
Overall survival: survival until death from all causesProgression‐free survival (or 'disease progression')
primary outcome:
Preoperative radiotherapy and curative surgery for the management of localised rectal carcinoma
Overall mortality.
primary outcome:
Olanzapine for the prevention and treatment of cancer‐related nausea and vomiting in adults
Absence of nausea or vomiting as measured by the proportion of participants with no nausea or vomiting over the time period studiedSerious adverse events, specifically, extra pyramidal adverse events, prolonged QTc interval, neutropenia and agranulocytosis, as measured by the proportion of participants experiencing at least one of these events
primary outcome:
Probiotics for the prevention or treatment of chemotherapy‐ or radiotherapy‐related diarrhoea in people with cancer
For prevention studies: proportion of participants with diarrhoeaFor treatment studies: reduction in severity of diarrhoea (e.g. according to the National Cancer Institute's Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) (NCI 2013; CTCAE 2010).Quality of life measured on a scale that is validated through reporting of norms in a peer‐reviewed publication (e.g. EORTC‐QLQ‐C30 (a questionnaire developed to assess the quality of life of people with cancer) or a generic instrument, such as Short Form (SF)‐36)
primary outcome:
Immunonutrition for patients undergoing surgery for head and neck cancer
Length of hospital stay: measured in days from the day of surgery to discharge from hospital.Wound infections: as measured by the proportion of patients in whom any type or degree of wound infection was recorded, at any point postoperatively.Fistula formation: as measured by the proportion of patients in whom a fistula was recorded at any point postoperatively.Adverse events/tolerance of feeds, as defined by trial authors: as measured by the proportion of patients in whom adverse events relating to tolerance of feed was recorded, at any point postoperatively.
primary outcome:
Risk‐reducing bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy in women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations
Overall survival: survival until death from all causes. We assessed survival from the time when women were enrolled in the study.HGSC (fallopian tube, ovarian and primary peritoneal cancer) mortality.Breast cancer mortality.
primary outcome:
Surgery versus stereotactic radiotherapy for people with single or solitary brain metastasis
Overall survival: length of time (in days, weeks or months) until death from any cause. We assessed survival from the time when participants were randomised.Adverse events: untoward medical events that may present during treatment with the study intervention, with or without a causal relationship with this treatment (Nebeker 2004). Examples of adverse events that we considered in this review are: headache; nausea; vomiting; fatigue and seizures or other neurological toxicities; wound complications such as infection or dehiscence; other infections different from wound infection; haematoma or cerebrospinal fluid leak. We described separately the proportion of participants with moderate and severe adverse events.
primary outcome:
Virtual reality simulation training for health professions trainees in gastrointestinal endoscopy
Composite score of competency in performing endoscopy (as defined by authors).
primary outcome:
Home parenteral nutrition for people with inoperable malignant bowel obstruction
Length of survival from diagnosis of MBO or, if not given, implementation of PN until death from any cause.Quality of life: any measure of quality of life completed by participants, carers or an independent rater. However, we gave preference to validated questionnaires, e.g. the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ‐C30).
primary outcome:
Communication skills training for healthcare professionals working with people who have cancer
We included outcomes that measured changes in HCP behaviour or skills, other HCP outcomes and patient‐related outcomes at any time after the intervention. We anticipated that many of these outcomes would be measured by validated study‐specific observational rating scales and potentially subject to a high degree of inter‐trial methodological heterogeneity. Studies that only reported outcomes of changes in attitudes/knowledge on the part of the HCPs or patients without examining resulting changes in behaviour of HCPs were excluded from the review, as self‐perceived improvements have been shown to be over‐optimistic (Chant 2002; Dickson 2012).
primary outcome:
Pembrolizumab monotherapy versus chemotherapy for treatment of advanced urothelial carcinoma with disease progression during or following platinum‐containing chemotherapy. A Cochrane Rapid Review
Time to death from any cause as measured from the time of random sequence generation to time of death irrespective of cause (time‐to‐event outcome).Quality of life as measured by validated instruments (continuous outcome).
primary outcome:
Anticoagulation for perioperative thromboprophylaxis in people with cancer
All‐cause mortality.
primary outcome:
Interventions for the treatment of brain radionecrosis after radiotherapy or radiosurgery
The primary outcome was radiological response, defined as any reduction in contrast‐enhancing lesions or oedema (i.e. T2‐weighted hyperintensity on MRI or hypodensity on computed tomography (CT)).
primary outcome:
Anticoagulation for people with cancer and central venous catheters
All‐cause mortality.
primary outcome:
Primary cryotherapy for localised or locally advanced prostate cancer
Time to death from prostate cancerQoLMajor adverse events
primary outcome:
Stent placement versus surgical palliation for adults with malignant gastric outlet obstruction
Measures of the resolution of symptoms.Re‐establishment of oral intake (technical success of the intervention).Time to re‐establishment of oral intake.All‐cause mortality.Short‐term mortality (in‐hospital mortality, or mortality within three months),Median survival postintervention
primary outcome:
Hormone replacement therapy for women previously treated for endometrial cancer
Rate of symptom relief (number of months to symptom relief; percentage of women who obtained symptom relief): hot flushes, vaginal atrophy, cardiovascular risk, osteoporosis risk, others.Rate of tumour recurrence: number of months to tumour recurrence.Rate of appearance of a new malignancy (breast cancer, etc.): number of months to appearance of a new malignancy.Rate of survival: overall survival (OS) by clinical or surgical stage or both; progression‐free survival (PFS) by clinical or surgical stage.
primary outcome:
Prophylactic vaccination against human papillomaviruses to prevent cervical cancer and its precursors
Histologically‐confirmed high‐grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2, CIN3 and adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS)) or worse, associated with the HPV types included in the vaccine or any lesions irrespective of HPV type. Association between HPV types and a diagnosed lesion means that the particular type or types have been detected in that lesion. These primary outcomes were judged by WHO to be adequate endpoints (Pagliusi 2004).Invasive cervical cancer.Safety/occurrence of adverse effects:
primary outcome:
Hyperbaric oxygenation for tumour sensitisation to radiotherapy
Mortality rate at any timeComplete or partial failure to control local tumour at any time
primary outcome:
Gemcitabine‐based chemotherapy for advanced biliary tract carcinomas
All‐cause mortality.Serious adverse events. We used the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice's definition of a serious adverse event (ICH‐GCP 1997); that is, any untoward medical occurrence that results in death, is life‐threatening, requires hospitalisation or prolongation of existing hospitalisation, results in persistent or significant disability or incapacity, or is a congenital anomaly or birth defect. We considered all other adverse events as non‐serious (see below).Health‐related quality of life: if reported in individual trials by the participants and if measured with validated instruments.
primary outcome:
Breast surgery for metastatic breast cancer
Overall survival, defined as the time from date randomised to date of death (any cause).Quality of life, assessed through validated questionnaires such as the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ‐BR23, EORTC QLQ‐BR23, and BREAST‐Q, BREAST‐Q, questionnaires or others described in the clinical trial.
primary outcome:
Oral water soluble contrast for malignant bowel obstruction
The ability of OWSC, when seen to reach the colon on follow‐up imaging, to predict the likelihood of malignant small bowel obstruction resolving with conservative treatment alone (diagnostic).The rate of resolution of MBO with medical management only in patients receiving OWSC compared with those not receiving it (therapeutic).Gastrointestinal adverse effects (increased abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting).Extra‐abdominal complications (aspiration pneumonia, hypersensitivity reactions).
primary outcome:
Ghrelin for the management of cachexia associated with cancer
Change in food intake as difference between baseline and the end of treatment. We planned to express this outcome as a dichotomous variable (number of participants who experienced an increase in food intake) or a continuous variable (actual change in food intake).Change in body weight as difference between baseline and at the end of treatment. We planned to express this outcome as a dichotomous variable (number of participants who experienced change in body weight) or a continuous variable (actual change in body weight).Adverse events as the number of participants who suffered an event described as an adverse event by the authors of the studies.
primary outcome:
Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory agents to induce regression and prevent the progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia
Progression of CIN to higher grades of CINProgression of CIN to invasive carcinomaRegression of CIN
primary outcome:
Influenza vaccines in immunosuppressed adults with cancer
All‐cause mortality, preferably at the end of the influenza season. We selected all‐cause mortality as the primary outcome, since this is the ultimate goal of influenza vaccination, and the composite outcome of infections, hospitalisations, chemotherapy delays and other effects of influenza.
primary outcome:
Physical activity for women with breast cancer after adjuvant therapy
Breast cancer‐related mortality, defined as time from date randomised to date of death due to primary breast cancerHRQoL domains, via a validated questionnaire, including but not limited to physical function (e.g. performance of self‐care and everyday physical activities), psychological function (e.g. emotional well‐being, anxiety, depression, self‐esteem), social and economic role function (e.g. performance of work or household responsibilities, social interactions), pain, and fatigue or vitality (e.g. energy)
primary outcome:
Selenium for preventing cancer
Incidence of any cancer and of site‐specific cancers, assessed as proportions of participants developing cancers during the study period.Mortality from any cancer and from site‐specific cancer, assessed as proportions of participants dying from cancers during the study period.
primary outcome:
Whole brain radiotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed multiple brain metastases
We sought data for the following outcome measures.
primary outcome:
Interventions to reduce acute and late adverse gastrointestinal effects of pelvic radiotherapy for primary pelvic cancers
Gastrointestinal symptom score, according to the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire‐bowel function dimension (IBDQ‐BD), Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), or another scale.Moderate or severe GI symptoms (toxicity), according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE 2010), European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) scoring system, IBDQ, GSRS, or another scale, including:Overall GI symptoms (grade 2+ toxicity);Diarrhoea (the passing of frequent, loose stool);Faecal incontinence (leakage of stool from the rectum);Faecal urgency (a sudden, almost uncontrollable, need to pass stool);Rectal bleeding;Tenesmus (a feeling of incomplete evacuation and a constant urge to pass stool);Abdominal pain/cramps;Nausea;Vomiting;Flatulence;Weight loss.Quality of life (QoL) score, according to EORTC QLQ‐C30, QLQ‐PR25, Prostate Cancer Quality of Life Scale (PC‐QOL), IBDQ or another scale.
primary outcome:
Gefitinib for advanced non‐small cell lung cancer
Overall survival (OS), assessed from date of randomisation to date of patient death (time to death).Progression‐free survival (PFS):Measured from the date of randomisation to the date of objective disease progression, based on Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST), the revised version of the International Union Against Cancer/WHO criteria (Therasse 2000).Time to treatment failure (TTF): measured from the date of randomisation to the date of study discontinuation (for any reason). This may be reported instead of PFS in some studies.Toxicity (graded according to the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria or the World Health Organization criteria (NCI CTCAE 2010).However, we accepted whatever definitions had been used in the individual trials. A risk ratio (RR) significantly greater than 1 (RR > 1) is a positive response in favour of gefitinib.
primary outcome:
Bisphosphonates for advanced prostate cancer
Proportion of participants with pain response:we considered all trials reporting on the proportion of participants with pain response; there were no restrictions on pain assessment tools or definition of pain response in the trials.
primary outcome:
Tumour bed boost radiotherapy for women after breast‐conserving surgery
Local control, defined as the time (from randomisation) until the development of any local recurrence during follow‐up (time‐to‐event outcome). We defined local recurrence as recurrence in the ipsilateral breast (i.e. the breast in which cancer had been diagnosed), the skin and parenchyma.Acute toxicity related to radiotherapy, i.e. any toxic event occurring in the breast, skin, lung, and heart within six months of completion of radiotherapy. We intended for acute toxicity to be classified according to the scales the authors used and, if possible, converted to the score from the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria (NCI‐CTCAE v4.0).
primary outcome:
Closure methods for laparotomy incisions for preventing incisional hernias and other wound complications
Proportion of participants who developed incisional hernia, as defined in the included studies, at one year or more of follow‐up.
primary outcome:
Bisphosphonates and other bone agents for breast cancer
For women with EBC (defined by stage I‐III breast cancer with no distant metastases, locally advanced or recurrent disease):bone metastasesFor women with ABC (defined by locally ABC, recurrent breast cancer or metastatic breast cancer with no clinically evident bone metastases):bone metastasesFor women with BCBM:the proportion of women on treatment experiencing a SRE compared to control, expressed as a risk ratio (RR). (For this systematic review, reducing the proportion of women with a SRE was synonymous with reducing the risk of developing a SRE and preventing a SRE).
primary outcome:
Lymphadenectomy for the management of endometrial cancer
Overall survival (OS).
primary outcome:
Whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) alone versus WBRT and radiosurgery for the treatment of brain metastases
Overall survival (OS): death from all causes from time of randomizationDisease‐specific survival (DSS): death from metastases of the brainFunctionally independent survival (FIS): as measured using a Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) (Karnofsky 1949) baseline or some equivalent system of measurement
primary outcome:
Pancreaticojejunostomy versus pancreaticogastrostomy reconstruction for the prevention of postoperative pancreatic fistula following pancreaticoduodenectomy
Postoperative pancreatic fistula (time point closest to 30 days; defined by the International Study Group on Pancreatic Fistula (Bassi 2005a; Bassi 2017).
primary outcome:
Intravesical electromotive drug administration for non‐muscle invasive bladder cancer
Time to recurrence.Time to progression.Serious adverse events.
primary outcome:
Laparoscopic and robotic‐assisted versus open radical prostatectomy for the treatment of localised prostate cancer
Prostate cancer‐specific survivalUrinary quality of lifeSexual quality of life
primary outcome:
Parenteral anticoagulation in ambulatory patients with cancer
All‐cause mortality; pre‐specified at 12 months, 24 months and over the duration of the trial.
primary outcome:
Prophylactic chemotherapy for hydatidiform mole to prevent gestational trophoblastic neoplasia
Incidence of GTN (invasive mole, choriocarcinoma, PSTT and epithelioid trophoblastic tumour (ETT).
primary outcome:
Retinoic acid postconsolidation therapy for high‐risk neuroblastoma patients treated with autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Overall survival: the event is death by any cause from the start of retinoic acid treatmentTreatment‐related mortality: incidence of deaths that were classified as treatment‐related, or the participants died of treatment complications
primary outcome:
Home‐based multidimensional survivorship programmes for breast cancer survivors
Health‐related quality of life, measured using generic or disease‐specific, validated instruments such as the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ‐C30) (EORTC Quality of Life Department 2017), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐Breast Cancer (FACT‐B) (Cella 1993), Quality of Life Index ‐ Cancer Version (QOLI‐CV) (Ferrans 1990), Quality of Life – Cancer Survivor Tool (QOL‐CS) (Ferrell 1995) or Cancer Rehabilitation Evaluation System (CARES) (Schag 1989).
primary outcome:
Chemoradiotherapy versus chemoradiotherapy plus surgery for esophageal cancer
The primary outcome was overall survival (OS) — time from randomization to death from any cause.
primary outcome:
Procarbazine, lomustine and vincristine for recurrent high‐grade glioma
Overall survival defined as time from randomisation to death from any cause.
primary outcome:
Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for cancer‐related pain in children and adolescents
Participant‐reported pain relief of 30% or greater.Participant‐reported pain relief of 50% or greater.PGIC much or very much improved.
primary outcome:
Opioids for cancer‐related pain in children and adolescents
Participant‐reported pain relief of 30% or greater.Participant‐reported pain relief of 50% or greater.PGIC much or very much improved.
primary outcome:
Psychosocial interventions for fatigue during cancer treatment with palliative intent
Fatigue post intervention (alternative terms: tiredness, weakness, lack of energy, lack of vitality, exhaustion)
primary outcome:
Oral nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for cancer pain in adults
Number of participants with pain reduction of 50% or greater from baseline.Number of participants with pain reduction of 30% or greater from baseline.Number of participants with pain no worse than mild (Moore 2013a).Number of participants with PGIC of much improved or very much improved (or equivalent wording).
primary outcome:
Oral paracetamol (acetaminophen) for cancer pain
Number of participants with pain reduction of 50% or greater from baseline.Number of participants with pain reduction of 30% or greater from baseline.Number of participants with pain no worse than mild (Moore 2013a).Number of participants with PGIC much improved or very much improved (or equivalent wording).
primary outcome:
Corticosteroids for adult patients with advanced cancer who have nausea and vomiting (not related to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery)
Patient‐reported nausea intensity and relief using validated scales (visual analogue scales (VAS), numerical rating scales (NRS), verbal rating scales (VRS), or a combination), and the number of vomiting episodes in a predefined time interval.
primary outcome:
Retroperitoneal drainage versus no drainage after pelvic lymphadenectomy for the prevention of lymphocyst formation in women with gynaecological malignancies
Rate of lymphocyst formation; asymptomatic and symptomatic (categorical data). The diagnosis of lymphocyst must have been made by imaging studies such as ultrasound, computerised tomography (CT), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The techniques used for diagnosis were described.
primary outcome:
Ketamine as an adjuvant to opioids for cancer pain
The primary outcome measure was patient‐reported pain intensity (e.g. visual analogue scales (VAS) and verbal rating scales).
primary outcome:
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors for metastatic colorectal cancer
The primary endpoint was progression‐free survival, defined by time from trial enrolment to a composite of disease progression (as measured by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST) criteria) and death. RECIST criteria define whether a tumour is measurable on baseline imaging and require the selection of "target lesions" – index lesions for measuring disease and monitoring response. (Eisenhauer 2009). For people with RECIST measurable disease, tumour measurements on repeat imaging are separated into four categories: complete response (disappearance of all target lesions), partial response (decrease in sum of diameters of target lesions by at least 30%), progressive disease (increase in sum of diameters of target lesions by at least 20%, or appearance of a new lesion), or stable disease (none of the above). We noted discrepancies from RECIST criteria qualitatively.
primary outcome:
Platinum‐containing regimens for metastatic breast cancer
Overall survival (OS)Progression‐free survival/time to progression (PFS/TTP)
primary outcome:
Early palliative care for adults with advanced cancer
Health‐related quality of life (e.g. measured by Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT), City of Hope Quality of Life Questionnaire, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ‐C30), McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire, 36‐Item Short Form Health Survey (SF‐36), or the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS)).Survival.Depression (e.g. measured on Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM‐D), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9), or Centre for Epidemiological Studies ‐ Depression Scale (CES‐D)).Symptom intensity (e.g. measured on Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS), or on Brief Pain Inventory (BPI)).
primary outcome:
Focal laser treatment in addition to chemotherapy for retinoblastoma
The proportion of eyes with recurrence of tumours within three years from treatment.
primary outcome:
Empirical antibiotics targeting gram‐positive bacteria for the treatment of febrile neutropenic patients with cancer
Overall mortality at end of study follow‐up and up to 30 days following end of treatment. We extracted 30‐day mortality. If not reported, we used overall mortality data at the latest point of study follow‐up when the follow‐up did not exceed 30 days.
primary outcome:
Drug therapy for symptoms associated with anxiety in adult palliative care patients
Anxiety: studies were eligible for inclusion if they reported anxiety measured using a validated scale which measures either anxiety alone or as a subscale. Examples of validated instruments include the following:Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM‐A) (Hamilton 1959);Symptom Check List‐90 (SCL‐90) anxiety sub scale (Derogatis 1983);Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) (Robins 1981);Affects Balance Scale (ABS) (Bradburn 1969);Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (Zigmond 1983);Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) (Bruera 1991);Profile of Mood States (Pollock 1979);Rotterdam Symptoms Checklist (de Haes 1996);Palliative care Outcome Scale (or Patient Outcome Scale) (Hearn 1999);Support Team Assessment Schedule (STAS) (Higginson 1993);Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) (Beck 1988);State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (Spielberger 1983).
primary outcome:
Tramadol with or without paracetamol (acetaminophen) for cancer pain
Number of participants with pain reduction of 30% or greater from baseline.Number of participants with pain reduction of 50% or greater from baseline.Number of participants with pain no worse than mild (Moore 2013).Number of participants with PGIC of much improved or very much improved (or equivalent wording).
primary outcome:
Immunotherapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma
Overall survival (OS) including one‐year mortality.Quality of life (QoL).Adverse events (AEs) (grade 3 or greater).
primary outcome:
Partial nephrectomy versus radical nephrectomy for clinical localised renal masses
Time‐to‐death of any causeSerious adverse events
primary outcome:
Alvimopan for recovery of bowel function after radical cystectomy
Time‐to‐tolerance of a solid diet AND documented bowel movements (composite endpoint; time‐to‐event outcome measured from the time of surgery).Time‐to‐hospital discharge (time‐to‐event outcome measured from the time of surgery).Major adverse events (dichotomous outcome) of surgical nature (Dindo‐Clavien grades III to V; Dindo 2004); or medical nature (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grades III to V; CTCAE 2010).
primary outcome:
Biopsy versus resection for the management of low‐grade gliomas
Overall survival (OS), defined as survival until death from all causes from time of randomization
primary outcome:
Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation following high‐dose chemotherapy for nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcomas
Overall survival (OS): the event was death by any cause, from diagnosis or start of HDCT and autologous HSCT.Treatment‐related mortality (TRM): incidence of deaths that were classified as treatment related or the participants died of treatment complications.
primary outcome:
Online support groups for women with breast cancer
Emotional distress: assessed by validated instruments such as the Brief Symptom Inventory‐18 (BSI‐18) or the Profile of Mood States (POMS)Uncertainty: assessed by a validated instrument such as the 28‐item Mishel Uncertainty in Illness ScaleAnxiety: assessed by validated instruments such as the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale‐Anxiety (HADS‐A)Depression: assessed by validated instruments such as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, BDI‐II) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale‐Revised (CESD‐R)
primary outcome:
Intravesical Bacillus Calmette‐Guérin with interferon‐alpha versus intravesical Bacillus Calmette‐Guérin for treating non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer
Time‐to‐recurrence, as measured from the date of randomisation to the date of biopsy or resection, with confirmation of tumour of any grade or stageTime‐to‐progression, as measured from the date of randomisation to the date of biopsy or resection, with confirmation of muscle‐invasive bladder cancerDiscontinuation of therapy due to adverse events
primary outcome:
External beam radiotherapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma
All‐cause mortality.Health‐related quality of life (as reported by the participants and assessed by a standard grading systems).Serious adverse events as defined according to the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice as any untoward medical occurrence that at any dose resulted in death, was life‐threatening, required inpatient hospitalisation or prolongation of existing hospitalisation, or resulted in persistent or significant disability or incapacity, or was a congenital anomaly/birth defect, or any medical event that might have jeopardised the patient, or required intervention to prevent it (ICH‐GCP 1997).
primary outcome:
Interventions for raising breast cancer awareness in women
Women's knowledge of breast cancer symptoms. This was based on patient‐reported knowledge and awareness scores from validated scales e.g. Breast Cancer Awareness Measure: BCAM (Linsell 2010). In addition, we used other measures of knowledge or awareness where reported e.g. knowledge of age‐related risk.Measure of confidence to check breasts i.e. engagement in self‐care behaviours relating to breast awareness (i.e. women looking at and feeling/palpating their breasts so that they know what is normal for their own body and what changes to look and feel for). This was apparent in data reported by women relating to their engagement in these self‐care behaviours i.e. frequency of breast checking at specific time frames.Measure of breast cancer awareness overall (where available).Measures of women's motivation to check their breasts, as outlined above (where available).Measures of confidence to seek help when breast cancer symptoms were noticed (where available).Measure of time from breast cancer symptom being noticed to presentation to a HCP (time‐to‐event data) indicating postponed or prompt help‐seeking behaviour (where available).Measure of women's intentions to seek help in the event of noticing a breast cancer symptom and their perceptions of barriers to help‐seeking (where available).
primary outcome:
Methadone for cancer pain
Participant‐reported pain intensity or pain relief, or both, measured using a visual analogue scale, verbal rating scale or numerical rating scaleParticipants with 'no worse than mild pain' on treatment
primary outcome:
Second‐line systemic therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer
Overall survival (OS, time from the start of second‐line treatment to death by any cause).Progression‐free survival (PFS, time from the start of second‐line treatment to disease progression).
primary outcome:
Immediate referral to colposcopy versus cytological surveillance for minor cervical cytological abnormalities in the absence of HPV test
The primary outcomes were the cumulative incidence of cervical intra‐epithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) and grade 3 or worse (CIN3+) from histology assessment.
primary outcome:
Antibiotics for infection prevention after excision of the cervical transformation zone
Infectious complications (defined as any documented sites of infection identified by cultivation or clinical symptoms and signs, or both), measured as the proportion of participants who developed each of the following within eight weeks of surgery: cervicitis, endometritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, prolonged vaginal discharge, severe vaginal bleeding, lower abdominal pain, fever, and additional antibiotic treatment.Antibiotic resistance
primary outcome:
Dietary fibre for the prevention of recurrent colorectal adenomas and carcinomas
Number of participants with at least one adenomatous polypNumber of participants with more than one adenomatous polypNumber of participants with at least one adenomatous polyp that is 1 cm or greaterNumber of participants with a new diagnosis of CRC
primary outcome:
Axillary treatment for operable primary breast cancer
Survival ‐ overall (interval between start of treatment or randomisation and death)Disease control in the axilla (interval between start of treatment and the need for second‐line treatment or palliative treatment or regional recurrence in the axilla)Breast cancer recurrence, either locally within the breast (local recurrence) or distantly as metastatic disease (distant recurrence), with time to recurrence and site of recurrence recordedAdverse events (surgical complications) including acute local surgical complications, such as haematoma, infection, wound dehiscence or seroma, and acute systemic complications, such as chest infection, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, cardiac failure, cardiac ischaemia and cerebrovascular accidentLong‐term complications including lymphoedema, shoulder stiffness, paraesthesia, pain, loss of functional capacity, winging of scapula and wound contracture or scarring
primary outcome:
Fulvestrant for hormone‐sensitive metastatic breast cancer
Progression‐free survival (PFS), defined as time between randomisation and tumour progression, or death from any cause. If PFS was not reported, we included time to progression (TTP), defined as the period from randomisation to time of progression, or time to treatment failure (TTF), defined as time to progression, relapse, or death from any cause in this analysis.
primary outcome:
Yoga for improving health‐related quality of life, mental health and cancer‐related symptoms in women diagnosed with breast cancer
Health‐related quality of life, assessed by any validated generic or disease‐specific self‐report scaleDepression, assessed by any validated self‐report or clinician‐rated scaleAnxiety, assessed by any validated self‐report or clinician‐rated scaleFatigue, assessed by any validated self‐report scaleSleep disturbances, assessed by any validated self‐report scale
primary outcome:
Minimally invasive surgery versus radiotherapy/chemoradiotherapy for small‐volume primary oropharyngeal carcinoma
Overall survival (disease‐related mortality was to be studied where possible)Locoregional controlDisease‐free survivalProgression‐free survival or time to recurrence
primary outcome:
Nipple‐ and areola‐sparing mastectomy for the treatment of breast cancer
Overall survival, considered separately for ductal carcinoma in situ and early breast cancer if possible.
primary outcome:
Educational interventions for the management of cancer‐related fatigue in adults
Fatigue was the primary outcome of interest for this review. It may have been assessed by validated fatigue scales or by any method of self‐evaluation. Fatigue may have been measured in terms of characteristics such as intensity, distress, interference, duration, or frequency, or as dimensions such as physical fatigue, mental fatigue, or general fatigue. In this review four separate measures of fatigue were considered; 1) fatigue intensity, 2) fatigue distress, 3) perceived fatigue interference, and 4) general fatigue. General fatigue was operationalised for this review as fatigue measures that combined different characteristics of fatigue (e.g. fatigue intensity, distress, and interference), that combined different dimensions of fatigue (e.g. cognitive and physical and emotional fatigue), or that stated that they were measures of general fatigue.
primary outcome:
Adjuvant platinum‐based chemotherapy for early stage cervical cancer
Overall survival (OS), defined as the time from randomisation until death (from any cause).Progression‐free survival (PFS), defined as the time from randomisation until disease progression or death (by any cause).
primary outcome:
Benzodiazepines for the relief of breathlessness in advanced malignant and non‐malignant diseases in adults
uni‐dimensional scales (e.g. visual analogue scales (VAS), numeric rating scales (NRS), categorical scales, modified Borg scales); ormultidimensional scales (e.g. St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRQ)).
primary outcome:
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation for muscle weakness in adults with advanced disease
Quadriceps muscle strength assessed immediately following a programme of NMES.
primary outcome:
Laparoscopy versus laparotomy for FIGO stage I ovarian cancer
Overall survival (OS)Progression‐free survival (PFS)
primary outcome:
Exercise for women receiving adjuvant therapy for breast cancer
physical fitness: objective tests measuring VO2 max or distance walked per timefatigue: using a validated questionnaire such as Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy‐Fatigue (FACIT‐F)quality of life (cancer‐specific quality of life, health‐related quality of life, cancer site‐specific quality of life): using a validated questionnaire such as Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐General (FACT‐G), European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire‐Core 36 (EORTC QLQ‐C30), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐Breast (FACT‐B)depression: using a validated questionnaire such as Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)cognitive function: using a validated test such as the Trail Making Test
primary outcome:
Therapeutic exercises for affecting post‐treatment swallowing in people treated for advanced‐stage head and neck cancers
Safety and efficiency of oral swallowing, as measured by:reduced/no aspiration;oropharyngeal swallowing efficiency (OPSE) measures, taken from videofluoroscopy swallowing studies;adverse events, such as chest infections, aspiration pneumonia, profound weight loss.
primary outcome:
Nutritional interventions for survivors of childhood cancer
Weighed food diaries.Self‐reported food diaries.Single or multiple 24‐hour recalls.Food frequency questionnaires.energy;protein;fat;carbohydrate;calcium;iron;folate;vitamin(s);mineral(s).
primary outcome:
Non‐pharmacological interventions for cognitive impairment due to systemic cancer treatment
'Objective' cognitive functioning measured using a validated, standardised test e.g. Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS)'Subjective' cognitive functioning measured using a validated, self‐report measure e.g. Functional Assessment of Cancer Treatment‐Cognition Function Scale (FACT‐Cog)
primary outcome:
Interventions for treating oral leukoplakia to prevent oral cancer
Oral cancer development, demonstrated by histopathological examination
primary outcome:
Sun protection for preventing basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) confirmed clinically or histopathologically at any follow‐up.Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) confirmed clinically or histopathologically at any follow‐up.Adverse events (e.g. dermatitis from sunscreens, acne secondary to the use of sunscreens, dermatitis from the use of hats and clothes, vitamin D deficiency from lack of exposure to the sun, etc.) reported by a number of participants or individually.
primary outcome:
Molecular‐targeted first‐line therapy for advanced gastric cancer
Overall survival (OS): survival until death from all causes;Progression‐free survival (PFS): time from randomization to either death or disease progression, whichever occurs first. Disease progression is defined according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) (Therasse 2000) as at least a 20% increase in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions, taking as reference the sum of the longest diameter recorded since the treatment started or the appearance of one or more new lesions.
primary outcome:
Pain relief for women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia undergoing colposcopy treatment
Presence or absence of pain, as a dichotomous outcome, or the degree of pain, measured by visual analogue scale (VAS) or categorical scales.
primary outcome:
Hypofractionated radiation therapy for early breast cancer
Local recurrence‐free survival (LR‐FS) in the ipsilateral breast (i.e. events defined as cancer detected in the same breast where the cancer had been diagnosed).Appearance or cosmesis (objective and subjective) of the treated breast.
primary outcome:
Intracystic bleomycin for cystic craniopharyngiomas in children
The primary endpoint is overall survival (OS) or event‐free survival (EFS) at the end of the follow‐up.OS is defined as the time to death from any cause. EFS is defined as the time to recurrence or progression of primary disease or death from any cause.
primary outcome:
Luteinising hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists for the treatment of relapsed epithelial ovarian cancer
Overall survival (OS): survival until death from all causes. Survival was assessed from the time when women were enrolled in the study.
primary outcome:
Radiotherapy for diffuse brainstem glioma in children and young adults
Overall survival (OS), defined as time from tumour diagnosis, or treatment, to death from any cause.
primary outcome:
Massage with or without aromatherapy for symptom relief in people with cancer
Pain (using validated standard subjective scales (numerical rating scale (NRS), verbal rating scale (VRS), or visual analogue scale (VAS)) for pain intensity or pain relief, or both).Psychological symptoms (including anxiety and depression assessed using validated scales).
primary outcome:
Follow‐up strategies for women treated for early breast cancer
Overall survival, as estimated from the date of randomisation to the date of last contact or death from any cause.Health‐related quality of life (HRQoL), assessed using EORTC QLQ‐C30, SF‐36 and the "hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS)"
primary outcome:
High‐dose chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow or stem cell transplantation versus conventional chemotherapy for women with early poor prognosis breast cancer
Overall survival (measured at 3, 4, 5, 6 or more years)Event‐free survival (no evidence of recurrence of breast cancer: measured at 3, 4, 5, 6 or more years)
primary outcome:
Different types of implants for reconstructive breast surgery
Capsular contracture rate and severity.If assessed by a surgeon, we used Baker, Gylbert, and Spear classifications to identify contracture severity at a minimum of one year of follow‐up (Baker 1978; Gylbert 1989; Spear 1995).We considered participants' subjective self‐assessments, or objective measurements of firmness (applanation tonometry), as other valid methods of identifying contracture severity at a minimum of one year of follow‐up.Participant‐reported outcomes: postoperative quality of life (psychosocial, physical, and sexual well‐being) or satisfaction level (satisfaction with breast and reconstructive outcome), as measured by BREAST‐Q, EORTC QLQC30 (Br23), and 36‐Item Short‐Form Health Survey (SF‐36).
primary outcome:
Stents for the prevention of pancreatic fistula following pancreaticoduodenectomy
Incidence of pancreatic fistula
primary outcome:
Non‐surgical interventions for late rectal problems (proctopathy) of radiotherapy in people who have received radiotherapy to the pelvis
Episodes of bowel activityBleedingPainTenesmusUrgencySphincter dysfunction
primary outcome:
Low bacterial diet versus control diet to prevent infection in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy causing episodes of neutropenia
Infection rate (as defined by authors of the original studies).(Infection‐related) mortality (as defined by authors of the original studies).
primary outcome:
Oral morphine for cancer pain
Participant‐reported pain (physician‐, nurse‐ or carer‐reported pain measures were not included in the analysis).Pain relief expressed using validated pain scales such as pain intensity and pain relief in the form of visual analogue scales or categorical scales, or both.
primary outcome:
Chromoscopy versus conventional endoscopy for the detection of polyps in the colon and rectum
Number of polyps detected per participant with each intervention (including neoplastic and non‐neoplastic lesions)Number of neoplastic polyps (adenomas/carcinomas) detected per participant with each interventionNumber of participants with at least one polyp (neoplastic and non‐neoplastic) detected with each interventionNumber of participants with at least one neoplastic polyp (adenoma/carcinoma) detected with each intervention