Specialized PRISMA Reporting Guidelines

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It has been almost a decade since the publication in mid-2009 of the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” statement, more commonly referred to as the PRISMA statement, which replaced the QUOROM (Quality of Reporting of Meta-analyses) statement published ten years before, in 1999.

1: Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG; PRISMA Group. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS Med. 2009 Jul 21;6(7):e1000097. PMID: 19621072;  PMCID: PMC2707599.

2: Moher D, Cook DJ, Eastwood S, Olkin I, Rennie D, Stroup DF. Improving the quality of reports of meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials: the QUOROM statement. Quality of Reporting of Meta-analyses. Lancet. 1999 Nov 27;354(9193):1896-900. PMID: 10584742.

Standardizing and improving the quality of reporting methods benefits everyone. PRISMA makes it easier for researchers to strive for and achieve more completeness in their reporting of systematic reviews, which in turn makes it easier for readers of published systematic reviews to obtain a more complete picture of the research that was carried out, increasing the likelihood that they will trust – and therefore make use of – the reported results.

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Three Questions for our Librarians – Kendra

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This month we spoke with Kendra Godwin, Research Informationist and Liaison for the Evidence-based Cancer Imaging Program. 

What areas can you help MSK users with?

I am part of a team that is working to support evidence-based practice at MSK. More specifically, my work surrounds the PAMA mandate, its establishing of the Appropriate Use Criteria Program, and future requirements for ordering advanced diagnostic imaging services.

What projects have you been working on recently?

The Evidence-based Cancer Imaging Program (ECIP) is MSK’s coordinated response to the PAMA mandate, and its purpose is to develop and implement appropriate use criteria (AUC) in pursuit of the best patient care. As the liaison for ECIP, I serve as the lead research informationist within AUC development, and as the MSK Library’s project manager for this program.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

The Voynich Manuscript combines all of the hits. Mysterious origins, coded text, and bizarre ink drawings of a possible medical nature? Yes! I was going to say wherever it is held, but after a quick search I see it’s only a few hours north of me in New Haven! Still, I encourage anyone to use the link above to learn more and view Yale’s beautiful digitization work. And, if I’m not fantasy traveling to Connecticut, I will be visiting my sister in Tokyo for the first time.

Does the Medium Change the Message?

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A recent article by Ed Yong in The Atlantic describes how the basics of cancer research may have inadvertently altered results for decades.

Scientists use a growth medium to study human or animal cancer cells in the lab. This medium is most commonly Eagle’s minimal essential medium (EMEM), developed in 1959. EMEM offers cells only the basic nutrients needed for growth. But more recently, researchers have developed new mediums that include many more of the chemicals and nutrients found in blood. And researchers are finding that the medium selected for a study can impact the results.

In the article, MSK’s Dr. Natasha Pavlova says that while the new mediums would help scientists looking at how cancer cells consume nutrients, they are not exact substitutes for blood cells, tissues, and organs. The cancer cells used by researchers, often of a similar age to EMEM, may also impact results. It’s not yet known if they would respond to new mediums more or less like cancer cells behave in a body.