Evidence-based Medicine
Perspective: Older Patients (Still) Left Out of Cancer Clinical Trials
27 Oct, 2019 | 23:36h | UTCOlder Patients (Still) Left Out of Cancer Clinical Trials – JAMA (free for a limited period)
Related: Exclusion of patients with concomitant chronic conditions in ongoing randomised controlled trials targeting 10 common chronic conditions and registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: a systematic review of registration details – BMJ Open (free) AND Do cancer clinical trials exaggerate the real-world benefits of drugs? – STAT News (free)
Related Commentary on Twitter
Medication without representation: People 65 years or older are strikingly underrepresented in cancer clinical trials, even though most cancers occur in that age group. Via @JAMA_current https://t.co/IxWBqHAZIB pic.twitter.com/67YxklJIs1
— Muin J. Khoury (@MuinJKhoury) October 26, 2019
Opinion: “Progression-Free Survival” – How One Bit of Medical Jargon Fuels Public Confusion About Cancer Treatments
24 Oct, 2019 | 07:55h | UTCHow one bit of medical jargon fuels public confusion about cancer treatments – Health News Review (free)
Related: Study: Evaluating Progression-Free Survival as a Surrogate Outcome for Health-Related Quality of Life in Oncology (link to abstract and commentaries)
Ann Robinson’s journal review—23 October 2019
24 Oct, 2019 | 07:25h | UTCAnn Robinson’s journal review, 23 October 2019 – The BMJ Opinion (free)
Ann Robinson reviews the latest research from the top medical journals.
Study: Socially Transmitted Placebo Effects
23 Oct, 2019 | 08:13h | UTCSocially transmitted placebo effects – Nature Human Behaviour (free for a limited period)
Commentary: The Placebo Effect Works And You Can Catch It From Your Doctor – NPR (free)
Viewpoint: Neglecting Major Health Problems and Broadcasting Minor, Uncertain Issues in Lifestyle Science
20 Oct, 2019 | 23:07h | UTCNeglecting Major Health Problems and Broadcasting Minor, Uncertain Issues in Lifestyle Science – JAMA (free for a limited period)
Related Commentary on Twitter
Outstanding perspective on the underrepresentation of rigorously-conducted #medicalresearch in #news & #SoMe. #Altmetric scores are often not proportionate to #researchquality, false inferences are often publicized. Suggest’ns for editors/journals included https://t.co/g32Pt8N7K9
— Harriette Van Spall, MD MPH (@hvanspall) October 19, 2019
Alex Nowbar’s weekly review—17 October 2019
18 Oct, 2019 | 08:08h | UTCAlex Nowbar’s weekly review—17 October 2019 – The BMJ Opinion (free)
Alex Nowbar reviews the latest research from the top medical journals.
Opinion: Bacon Rashers, Statistics, and Controversy
14 Oct, 2019 | 08:37h | UTCBacon Rashers, Statistics, and Controversy – The BMJ Opinion (free)
Original Article: Guideline: It Is NOT Necessary to Reduce Red and Processed Meat Consumption (free guideline and systematic reviews)
Related: Meat’s Bad for You! No, It’s Not! How Experts See Different Things in the Data – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND Is eating beef healthy? The new fight raging in nutrition science, explained. – Vox (free) AND Scientist Who Discredited Meat Guidelines Didn’t Report Past Food Industry Ties – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Ten Common Statistical Mistakes to Watch out for When Writing or Reviewing a Manuscript
14 Oct, 2019 | 08:28h | UTC
The Future of OA: A large-scale Analysis Projecting Open Access Publication and Readership
11 Oct, 2019 | 09:41h | UTCThe Future of OA: A large-scale Analysis Projecting Open Access Publication and Readership – bioRxiv (free PDF)
News Release: The Future of OA: A large-scale analysis projecting Open Access publication and readership – Our Research Blog (free)
“In 2019:
31% of all journal articles are available as OA
52% of all article views are to OA articles
Given existing trends, we estimate that by 2025:
44% of all journal articles will be available as OA
70% of all article views will be to OA articles”
Related Commentary on Twitter
NEW STUDY now on bioRxiv:
The Future of OA: A large-scale analysis projecting Open Access publication and readership
It is the largest, most comprehensive analysis to predict the future of OA. Exciting! More here:https://t.co/coGjjZBWx6#openaccess #OA #openscience pic.twitter.com/0GCqkqdowW
— Our Research (@our_research) October 9, 2019
Educational Review: Preventing Overdiagnosis and the Harms of Too Much Sport and Exercise Medicine
11 Oct, 2019 | 09:37h | UTCRelated: Five warning signs of overdiagnosis – The Conversation (free) AND Overdiagnosis: Causes and Consequences in Primary Health Care (free) AND Screening: How Overdiagnosis and Other Harms can Undermine the Benefits (free) AND WONCA Position Paper on Overdiagnosis and Action to be Taken (free) AND Overdiagnosis: what it is and what it isn’t (free) AND Review: Overdiagnosis Across Medical Disciplines (free) AND Too much medical care: bad for you, bad for health care systems (free)
A Guide to Prospective Meta-analysis
10 Oct, 2019 | 09:28h | UTCA guide to prospective meta-analysis – The BMJ (free for a limited period)
Alex Nowbar’s journal reviews—8 October 2019
10 Oct, 2019 | 09:27h | UTCAlex Nowbar’s journal reviews—8 October 2019 – The BMJ Opinion (free)
Alex Nowbar reviews the latest research from the top medical journals.
Editorial: A kinder Research Culture is Possible
10 Oct, 2019 | 09:18h | UTCA kinder research culture is possible – Nature (free)
Biologists Who Decoded How Cells Sense Oxygen Win Medicine Nobel
9 Oct, 2019 | 10:39h | UTCBiologists who decoded how cells sense oxygen win medicine Nobel – Nature (free)
See also: Medicine Nobel honors work on cellular system to sense oxygen levels – Science (a few articles per month are free) AND Three scientists win Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering how cells sense and adapt to oxygen levels – STAT (free) AND Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded for Research on How Cells Manage Oxygen – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Opinion: The Folly of Big Science Awards
9 Oct, 2019 | 10:38h | UTCThe Folly of Big Science Awards – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Perspective: Highlight Negative Results to Improve Science
7 Oct, 2019 | 05:48h | UTCHighlight negative results to improve science – Nature (free)
Related: Congratulations. Your Study Went Nowhere – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND Joint statement on public disclosure of results from clinical trials – World Health Organization (free)
[Abstract Only] Inadequate Description of Placebo and Sham Controls in a Review of Recent Trials
4 Oct, 2019 | 07:17h | UTCInadequate description of placebo and sham controls in a review of recent trials – European Journal of Clinical Investigation (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: Poorly reported placebos could lead to mistaken estimates of benefits and harms – University of Oxford (free) AND Placebos: what they’re made of matters – The Conversation (free)
New Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions
3 Oct, 2019 | 01:35h | UTCCochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions – Version 6, 2019 – Cochrane Library (free chapters)
Cochrane News Releases: New Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (free) What you need to know about the new Cochrane Handbook (free)
Perspective: Google Scholar Risks and Alternatives
2 Oct, 2019 | 01:36h | UTCGoogle Scholar Risks and Alternatives – Absolutely Maybe Blog (free)
Tips on How to Write a Great Science Paper
30 Sep, 2019 | 00:48h | UTCNovelist Cormac McCarthy’s tips on how to write a great science paper – Nature (free)
Evidence Synthesis: Should Antidepressants be Used for Major Depressive Disorder?
27 Sep, 2019 | 08:33h | UTCShould antidepressants be used for major depressive disorder? – BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine (free)
Related Meta-analysis: Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis – The Lancet (free)
Related Commentary: Do Antidepressants Work? – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
“Generally, all the previous reviews show that antidepressants seem to have statistically significant effects on depressive symptoms, but the size of the effect has questionable importance to most patients.”
Alex Nowbar’s journal review—24 September 2019
26 Sep, 2019 | 08:32h | UTCAlex Nowbar’s journal review, 24 September 2019 – The BMJ Opinion (free)
Alex Nowbar reviews the latest research from the top medical journals.
Perspective: Pay-to-Participate Trials and Vulnerabilities in Research Ethics Oversight
25 Sep, 2019 | 08:00h | UTCPay-to-Participate Trials and Vulnerabilities in Research Ethics Oversight – JAMA (free for a limited period)
Related: Amid rising concern, pay-to-play clinical trials are drawing federal scrutiny – STAT (free)
Study: Half of Trials Supporting New Cancer Drug Approvals in Europe Were Judged to be at High Risk of Bias
20 Sep, 2019 | 07:46h | UTCEditorial: Flawed evidence underpins approval of new cancer drugs (free)
Commentaries: Gauging the validity of cancer drug trials: a call for collaboration – The BMJ Opinion (free) AND Questions raised over quality of trials supporting new cancer drugs approvals – OnMedica (free) AND Evidence underpinning approval of new cancer drugs raises questions – The BMJ (free)
“Around half of trials that supported new cancer drug approvals in Europe between 2014 and 2016 were judged to be at high risk of bias, which indicates that treatment effects might have been exaggerated, concludes a new study.” (from The BMJ news release)
Alex Nowbar’s journal review—18 September 2019
19 Sep, 2019 | 08:11h | UTCAlex Nowbar’s journal review, 18 September 2019 – The BMJ Opinion (free)
Alex Nowbar reviews the latest research from the top medical journals.