IntroductionUterine serous carcinoma accounts for only about 10% of all endometrial cancers but this subtype is the most common amongst non-endometrioid endometrium cancers and contributes to more than half of recurrence and deaths attributed to endometrial cancers. A more extensive surgical staging and adjuvant therapies for uterine serous carcinoma are recommended by many guidelines. However, guidelines vary on recommendations for the methods that should be used for omentum assessment in uterine serous carcinoma and the previously reported incidence of omental metastasis in uterine serous carcinoma had a wide range because of the heterogeneity among these studies. As far as we know, there are no systematic review and meta-analysis available on this topic. The aim of our proposed study is to statistically synthesise the data examining the incidence of omental metastasis in uterine serous carcinoma.Methods and analysisSystematic searches of three databases (PubMed, Embase and Web of Science) will be performed using prespecified search strategies. We will include original studies that reported incidence of omental metastasis in uterine serous carcinoma and are published before 30 August 2020. Our different investigators will independently conduct the eligible study selection, assess the quality of included studies and extract the needed data. If appropriate, the relevant data will be pooled through a random-effect or fixed-effect meta-analysis based on the heterogeneity among included studies. We will evaluate the overall quality of evidence using appropriate methods.Ethics and disseminationThis proposed study will be based on published data, and thus, there is no requirement for ethics approval. We aim to publish the results of this study in a peer-reviewed journal with good visibility for the fields of gynaecology and gynecologic oncology.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020200891.
IntroductionThe management of women with clinical early-stage cervical cancer and lymph node involvement detected intraoperatively is heterogeneous and controversial. This paper presents the protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis regarding the management of this specific population of patients. This proposed study aims to answer the question: does completion of radical hysterectomy improve the oncological outcomes of women with clinical early-stage cervical cancer and intraoperatively detected nodal involvement?Methods and analysisThis protocol is drafted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols guidelines, and the proposed study will be conducted in accordance with the standard guidelines of ‘Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses’ and ‘Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology reporting guideline’. Comprehensive literature searches will be performed in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science. The screening of the eligible studies, the extraction of data of interest, and the quality assessment of the included studies will all be independently performed by different members of our team. The primary outcome of this proposed study will be comparing the risk of recurrence or death from cervical cancer and the risk of all-cause death in patients with two different treatments (completion of radical hysterectomy or abandonment of radical hysterectomy); the secondary outcome of this proposed study will be comparing the risk of the grade 3/4 toxicities associated with the two types of management. Given the clinical heterogeneity among the included studies, data on outcomes will be pooled by random-effects models. Heterogeneity will be evaluated using the I2 statistic. The risk of bias for the included studies will be evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale or the Cochrane collaboration’s tool. The grade of evidence will be evaluated by two independent members of our team using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations approach.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required because there will no primary data collected. The findings of this proposed study will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42021273527.
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