Patient-reported health-related quality of life outcomes in supportive-care interventions for adults with brain tumors: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of this systematic review were to: (1) identify supportive-care (psychosocial/behavioral, pharmacological, complementary or alternative) interventions that have been evaluated via randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to improve patient-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among adults with brain tumors; (2) evaluate the quality of the intervention studies; and (3) evaluate if developed interventions have been efficacious at improving HRQoL, as compared to control conditions in RCTs.

METHODS:

This systematic review was conducted using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Four databases were searched for RCTs of supportive-care interventions for adults with brain tumors, primary or metastatic, that included a patient-reported HRQoL outcome. Quality of the included studies was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies.

RESULTS:

Ten RCTs involving 640 patients with either a primary or metastatic brain tumor investigating supportive-care interventions with a HRQoL outcome were identified. In terms of quality, three of the studies received a "strong" rating, three received a "moderate" rating, and four of the studies received a "weak" rating. Only two of the interventions (i.e., a home-based psychosocial intervention and individualized acupuncture with standard rehabilitation) demonstrated improvements in HRQoL over control conditions.

CONCLUSIONS:

HRQoL is of the utmost importance when treating patients with brain tumors. Yet, there is a notable paucity of research to inform clinical decisions and evidence-based practice. More high-quality studies of interventions aimed at improving HRQoL are needed.