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Cancer Survivorship and Care · Journal article
Systematic Reviews · August 10, 2026
Early or partial results. Treat as a signal, not a conclusion.
This is a protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis that does not yet contain empirical findings. It outlines plans to systematically evaluate palliative care educational intervention (PEI) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for health-related quality of life in patients with incurable cancer by searching five major databases and registries, calculating standardized mean differences, and using GRADE to assess evidence quality. No results are available; the actual evidence will exist only after study selection and synthesis are complete.
Protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Randomized controlled trials enrolling adults aged ≥18 years with incurable cancer; setting and specific inclusion/exclusion criteria to be detailed in the full review.. Intervention: Palliative care educational intervention (PEI) and/or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Compared with: PEI versus CBT; head-to-head and indirect comparisons via network meta-analysis.
This is a protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis that does not yet contain empirical findings. It outlines plans to systematically evaluate palliative care educational intervention (PEI) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for health-related quality of life in patients with incurable cancer by searching five major databases and registries, calculating standardized mean differences, and using GRADE to assess evidence quality. No results are available; the actual evidence will exist only after study selection and synthesis are complete.
Safety was not reported in the material analysed. Check the source before drawing any conclusion about harm.
Once completed, this systematic review and network meta-analysis may clarify the relative effectiveness of PEI and CBT for health-related quality of life and symptom management in patients with incurable cancer, potentially informing palliative care delivery when professional resources are limited. Until the review is published, no clinical recommendation can be made from this protocol.
This is a protocol for a planned systematic review and network meta-analysis, not a completed study with empirical results; it describes the design and methods that will be used to evaluate PEI and CBT but reports no data or findings.
As stated by the source record.
Once completed, this systematic review and network meta-analysis may clarify the relative effectiveness of PEI and CBT for health-related quality of life and symptom management in patients with incurable cancer, potentially informing palliative care delivery when professional resources are limited. Until the review is published, no clinical recommendation can be made from this protocol.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
What is missing. This record has no key findings, reported figures. That is a gap in the analysis, not a judgement about the study.
Patients with incurable cancer prioritize health-related quality of life (HRQoL)—a key target of palliative care. But shortages of palliative care professionals create critical access barriers, leaving patients with unmet HRQoL needs. In addition to palliative care provided by professionals, non-pharmacological strategies such as palliative care educational intervention (PEI) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have been proposed to address these gaps. Recent studies about PEI have shown promise in improving HRQoL for patients with incurable cancer. However, it remains an emerging approach that has not been thoroughly and systematically evaluated, especially compared with CBT—an intervention with extensive systematic reviews. Furthermore, due to the scarcity of head-to-head comparisons between PEI and CBT, a network meta-analysis (NMA) is needed to clarify their relative effectiveness. This systematic review and NMA will include randomized controlled trials evaluating PEI and/or CBT in adults (≥ 18 years) with incurable cancer. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and CINAHL) and trial registers (ClinicalTrials.gov) will be searched from inception. The primary outcome is HRQoL (measured via validated scales such as the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire [EORTC QLQ-C30]); secondary outcomes include symptoms (pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression) assessed by validated scales. Effect sizes (standardized mean differences [SMD]) will be calculated, and SMDs will be re-expressed to the EORTC QLQ-C30 global health/quality of life scale. NMA will estimate relative effects, with subgroup analyses (based on delivery setting, mode, etc.) and sensitivity analyses. The GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) will assess evidence quality. Comparing PEI with CBT will offer evidence for palliative care professionals and policymakers. Clear PEI definition and comprehensive literature retrieval are foundational to this systematic review and NMA, while analyzing study and intervention details may address heterogeneity in HRQoL outcomes and guide development of more effective interventions. PROSPERO CRD420251146822.
Taken from the source record, never inferred. Follow any of these and new work involving them reaches your briefing.