Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29177062›Full record

ArticleBMJ open gastroenterology2017

Validity of studies suggesting postsurgical chemotherapy for resectable gastric cancer: critical appraisal of randomised trials.

Giulia Manzini, Doris Henne-Bruns, Michael Kremer

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open gastroenterology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Giulia ManziniDepartment of General and Visceral Surgery, Universitat Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Doris Henne-BrunsDepartment of General and Visceral Surgery, Universitat Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Michael KremerDepartment of General and Visceral Surgery, Universitat Ulm, Ulm, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimIn 2013, Diaz-Nieto

methodsOverall survival was selected as endpoint of interest. Among the 34 included papers which analysed this endpoint, we identified the four publications which have the highest weights to influence the final result. The validity of these papers was analysed using the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) checklist for randomised controlled trials. We performed a new meta-analysis without the four studies in order to assess their impact on the general result of the original meta-analysis.

resultsThe analysed four studies revealed several inconsistencies: inappropriate answers were found in up to 77% of the items of the CONSORT checklist. Unclear or inadequate randomisation, missing blinded set-up, conflict of interest and lacking intention-to-treat analysis were the most common findings. When performing a meta-analysis excluding the four criticised studies, postsurgical chemotherapy still showed a significant improvement in overall survival. Even when excluding all single studies with a statistically significant outcome by themselves and performing a meta-analysis on the remaining 26 studies, the result remains statistically significant.

conclusionThe four most powerful publications in the Cochrane review show substantial deficits. We suggest a more critical appraisal regarding the validity of single studies. However, after the exclusion of these four studies, the result of the meta-analysis did not change.

Indexed as

assessment of validitygastric cancermeta-analysisplacebo effect

Identifiers

PMID29177062
PMCPMC5689483

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.