Global coverage and consistency of guideline recommendations for cancer cachexia on the Web in 2011 and 2018

Abstract

Introduction Cancer cachexia is a common associate of cancer and has a negative impact on both patients’ quality of life and overall survival. Nonetheless its management remains suboptimal in clinical practice. Provision of medical recommendations in websites is of extreme importance for medical decision making and translating evidence into clinical practice. Aim of the study To scrutinize the magnitude, consistency and changes over time of cancer-cachexia recommendations for physicians on the Web among oncology related societies. Intercontinental, continental, national and socioeconomic variations were further analyzed. Material and methods Web identification of oncology related societies and prospective analyses of relative Web guideline recommendations for physicians on cancer-cachexia at different time-points. Results In June 2011, we scrutinized 144,000 Web pages. We identified 275 societies, of which 270 were eligible for analyses: 67 were international (African, American, Asian, European, Oceania and Intercontinental), 109 belonged to the top 10 countries with the highest development index and 94 pertained to 10 countries with a long lasting tradition in medical oncology. Conclusions The magnitude of cancer cachexia recommendations for physicians on the Web at a global level was scant both for coverage and consistency, and at any time-point considered: 3.7% (10/270) in 2011 and 8.1% (22/270) in 2018. The proportion of societies giving evidence-based and updated recommendations for cancer cachexia for physicians was only 1.1% (3/270) in 2011 and 2.96% (8/270) in 2018. Continent, national highest developmental index, oncology tradition and economic-geographic areas were not found to influence Web guideline provision.

Barriers in Nursing Practice in Cancer Cachexia: A Scoping Review

“…[ 2 ] However, oncology nurses may not sufficiently recognize the importance of following these guidelines or consensus. [ 7 8 9 ] Furthermore, the nurse's role is often unclearly defined in a multidisciplinary care team,[ 10 11 12 ] and this is expected to worsen outcomes in cancer cachexia cases. [ 13 14 15 16 ] These circumstances may undermine the chances of early detection and intervention for cancer cachexia.…”

Patient and family support in the era of fake e-medicine: food for thought from an international consensus panel

“…7 In a web survey of 370 oncology/anesthesiology societies, the scope and content of recommendations for physicians regarding cancer-related pain and cachexia were remarkably inconsistent. The proportion of societies providing up-to-date on-line evidence-based recommendations to physicians for cancer cachexia was only 2.96% (8 of 270) 13 and for cancer pain only 4.7% (17 of 370). 14 Surprisingly, the web guidelines provision for physicians was not found to be dependent on human development index, geographical region or oncology specialisation.…”