Table 2.

Summaries and intervention characteristics of included papers (n=9).

Year, author, countrya	Study characteristics	Intervention characteristics
	Objective	Purpose of the app	Operation
2016, Egbring et al, Switzerland [18]	To evaluate the effects of a mobile app on patient-reported daily functional activity	Improvement in the patient-reported functional activity and adverse effects of chemotherapy	The app allows patients to record their daily functional activity and perceived symptoms during chemotherapy with indications of severity. Patients can edit a list of their preselected symptoms or select any of the 48 symptoms available.
2018, Graetz et al, United States [25]	To evaluate the feasibility of a Web-based symptom-reporting app for patients with early-stage breast cancer using AIsb	Improvement in symptom burden and medication adherence	The ability to report symptoms and AI medication use, with built-in alerts sent to a patient’s care team on the basis of the predetermined thresholds.
2016, Hwang, Canada [22]	To determine if unscheduled visits for care and hospital readmission can be prevented by e-monitoring and to assess patient satisfaction with the app	Provision of care for postoperative wounds	The app allows for electronic wound monitoring. The patient takes photos of the wound on postoperative days 1, 3, 7, and 14 and attaches them to electronic messages sent to the surgeon, who must answer within 24 hours.
2010, Klasnja et al, United States [24]	To refine the functional requirements of a mobile app to assist patients with cancer during treatment	Provision of health information to manage care-related issues in unanchored settings	The app has modules including daily check-ins to track well-being and symptoms; calendar events (eg, consultations with clinicians); logs to monitor medications, pain, and surgery drains; and notes (ie, text, photo, and audio) for quick capture of care-related information.
2017, Liu et al, China [23]	To develop and evaluate the structure and contents of a smartphone app for women with breast cancer	Provision of information support regarding disease, treatment, medication, exercise, nutrition, symptoms, examination, and social support	The app has 5 main function modules: personalized information recommendation, category knowledge center, headline information browsing, newest information browsing, and information searching.
2016, Young-Afat et al, The Netherlands [26]	To evaluate patient experience and satisfaction, physicians’ and nurses’ opinions, and scientific potential of a supportive breast cancer app	To be beneficial in clinical practice and research	The app has 4 main functionalities: repository for information (audio recorded and imaging), symptom registration, timeline of treatment trajectory, and personalized information about breast cancer and treatment.
2017, Zhu et al, China [19]	To develop and evaluate the content and functionality of a mobile app for women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy	Provision of social, emotional, and information support	The app has 4 components: learning (information related to breast cancer and symptom management), discussion (anonymous support group), ask the expert (online consultation), and personal stories (stories of breast cancer survivors).
2018 A, Zhu et al, China [20]	To explore participants’ perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the BCSc, and their suggestions for program improvement	Provision of social, emotional, and information support	The app has 4 components: learning (information related to breast cancer and symptom management), discussion (anonymous support group), ask the expert (online consultation), and personal stories (stories of breast cancer survivors).
2018 B, Zhu et al, China [21]	To determine the effectiveness of the BCS program to address women’s self efficacy, symptoms, and quality of life during chemotherapy	Provision of social, emotional, and information support	The app has 4 components: learning (information related to breast cancer and symptom management), discussion (anonymous support group), ask-the expert (online consultation), and personal stories (stories of breast cancer survivors).

^aCountry of the study coordinator.

^bAIs: aromatase inhibitors.

^cBCS: Breast Cancer e-Support Program.