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Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Jan 8;13(e3):e528-e536.
doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2022-003642.

Global quality of life in breast cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis

Akbar Javan Biparva  1 , Samira Raoofi  2   3 , Sima Rafiei  4 , Fatemeh Pashazadeh Kan  5 , Mitra Kazerooni  6 , Farzaneh Bagheribayati  7 , Maryam Masoumi  8 , Maryam Doustmehraban  9 , Mohaddeseh Sanaei  5 , Farnaz Zarabi  10 , Neda Raoofi  11 , Zahra Beiramy Chomalu  5 , Behrooz Ahmadi  11 , Fatemeh Seyghalani Talab  12 , Batool Sadat Hoseini  10 , Elnaz Asadollahi  2 , Maryam Mir  5 , Sama Deylami  5 , Mahsa Zareei  3 , Hadis Sanaei  13 , Fateme Dousti Nia Kakavand  2 , Hooman Koohestani  14 , Mahmoud Nasiri  15 , Negin Vali  16 , Ahmad Ghashghaee  17
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Global quality of life in breast cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis

Akbar Javan Biparva et al. BMJ Support Palliat Care. .

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women worldwide. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to cover the existing research gap and contribute to existing knowledge to provide both researchers and clinicians with a better profile on the topic and consequently help improve the quality of life (QoL) of patients with BC.

Methods: A comprehensive review of original articles published in English from January 2000 to October 2021 from databases including Embase, Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science was conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement.

Results: Based on the meta-regression which examined a total of 9012 patients with BC, the QoL score calculated by EORTC QLQ-C30 was 64.72 (95% CI 59.24 to 70.20), while the score obtained from FACT-B was 84.39 (95% CI 64.24 to 104.54) and the scores from QLQ-BR23 and SF-36 were 66.33 (95% CI 62.76 to 69.90) and 57.23 (95% CI 47.65 to 66.82), respectively. A meta-analysis affirmed a significant direct relationship between the QoL score of patients with BC and their age (p=0.03). The results also revealed that the QoL scores of patients who had completed treatment were higher than those who were currently under treatment.

Conclusion: The present systematic review identified several factors that affect the QoL of women with BC worldwide and provided several implications for developing policy interventions to effectively improve the QoL of women with BC. In this way, clinicians can sufficiently give advice to their patients with the purpose of improving their QoL. PROSPERO registration number CRD42022309791.

Keywords: breast; cancer; quality of life.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of the review process (PRISMA). PRISMA, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Meta-regression based on year of publication and age.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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