Defining Standard Data Reporting in Pelvic Exenterations for Non-Rectal Cancers: A Systematic Review of Current Data...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Surgical Oncology
• Evidence-Based Medicine

Background:

• Pelvic exenteration (PEx) has evolved from a palliative to a potentially curative treatment for advanced pelvic cancers.
• Heterogeneous data reporting in existing literature hinders comparative analysis of PEx outcomes.
• Standardization is needed to improve understanding and reporting of PEx in non-rectal malignancies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine current literature on outcomes following PEx for non-rectal pelvic cancers.
• To identify data reporting heterogeneity and guide the development of a core information set (CIS).
• To standardize data reporting for PEx in non-rectal malignancies.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review of studies reporting PEx outcomes for gynecological, urological, and other non-rectal malignancies.
• Extraction and mapping of standardized outcomes to pre-determined domains.
• Analysis of 44 studies, extracting 1735 data elements assimilated into 111 standard DEs across nine domains.

Main Results:

• Pathological outcomes were most frequently reported.
• Patient-reported and functional outcomes showed the lowest reporting frequency.
• Significant heterogeneity in data reporting was observed across the included studies.

Conclusions:

• Recent trends show increased reporting in PEx, but this has led to data heterogeneity.
• A core information set (CIS) is proposed to standardize future reporting of PEx outcomes.
• Standardized reporting will facilitate better comparative analysis and guide clinical decision-making for PEx in non-rectal cancers.