Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37007103›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in oncology2023

Is it feasible and ethical to randomize patients between surgery and non-surgical treatments for gastrointestinal cancers?

Artur Rebelo, Johannes Klose, Jörg Kleeff, Ulrich Ronellenfitsch

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in oncology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
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

4 authors.

Artur RebeloDepartment of Visceral, Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, University Hospital Halle (Saale), Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
Johannes KloseDepartment of Visceral, Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, University Hospital Halle (Saale), Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
Jörg KleeffDepartment of Visceral, Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, University Hospital Halle (Saale), Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
Ulrich RonellenfitschDepartment of Visceral, Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, University Hospital Halle (Saale), Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: In several settings in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers, it is unclear if the addition of surgery to a multimodal treatment strategy, or in some circumstances its omission, lead to a better outcome for patients. In such situations of clinical equipoise, high-quality evidence from randomised-controlled trials is needed to decide which treatment approach is preferable. Objective: In this article, we outline the importance of randomised trials comparing surgery with non-surgical therapies for specific scenarios in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. We explain the difficulties and solutions of designing these trials and recruiting patients in this context. Methods: We performed a selective review based on a not systematic literature search in core databases, supplemented by browsing health information journals and citation searching. Only articles in English were selected. Based on this search, we discuss the results and methodological characteristics of several trials which randomised patients with gastrointestinal cancers between surgery and non-surgical treatments, highlighting their differences, advantages, and limitations. Results and conclusions: Innovative and effective cancer treatment requires randomised trials, also comparing surgery and non-surgical treatments for defined scenarios in the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies. Nevertheless, potential obstacles to designing and carrying out these trials must be recognised ahead of time to avoid problems before or during the trial.

Indexed as

cancerethicalgastrointestinaloncologyrandomized control trial (RCT)

Identifiers

PMID37007103
PMCPMC10061124

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.