The Cochrane Gynaecological Cancer Review Group (CGCRG) is part of the Cochrane Collaboration and its editorial base is in Bath, UK. It consists of a variety of people from different backgrounds (health care professionals, patients/carers and information specialists) who are committed to providing reliable evidence required to make important decisions on issues concerning gynaecological cancer as well as orphan cancer reviews.
The group's main task is to facilitate the identification of reports of controlled clinical trials and to carry out systematic reviews which are then published electronically on the Cochrane Library. Electronic publishing means that reviews may be updated as and when new evidence becomes available, and the authors are able to respond to comments made by users.
Evidence relating to the care of gynaecological cancer patients comes from a number of sources and so a multi-faceted approach is taken, including searching electronic databases of clinical trial reports, handsearching printed journals, and scanning of the 'grey' literature i.e. conference proceedings and abstracts. Every effort is made to find unpublished trials to avoid bias.
A number of people from different disciplines are involved in the care of a patient with gynaecological cancer, so this must be reflected in the review process. The Group has two Co-ordinating Editors Jo Morrison and Chris Williams, whose responsibilities are to ensure that each stage of the process (the title, the protocol, the review and it's subsequent updates) is reviewed by a variety of specialists including patients.
The remit of the group is to conduct systematic reviews in the screening, prevention, treatment, palliation of symptoms and rehabilitation of the patient in the following cancers:
• Uterine cervix
• Body of uterus
• Vagina/fallopian tube
• Ovary
• Chorioncarcinoma
• Vulva
As well as gynaecological cancers, the CGCRG deals with 'orphan' cancer reviews. These are reviews of topics which fall into one of the following categories:
• Cancers which do not as yet have a Review Group registered with the Cochrane Collaboration.
• Cancers which are rare and therefore unlikely to ever be registered with a Review Group in the Cochrane Collaboration.
• Topics relating to more than one type of cancer, e.g. infections in cancer patients.
The Group also publishes neuro-oncology titles. Development of this neuro-oncology list has been necessitated by the improving quality of research in evidence based neuro-oncology and plethora of new reviews. The group aims to provide a focal point within Cochrane to facilitate a coherent network to locate reviews. The list is managed by Robin Grant and Mike Hart. Robin is a Consultant Neurologist at the Edinburgh Centre for neuro-oncology (ECNO) which is based within the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK. ECNO provides a base for administrative and clinical integration of staff from Neurology, Neurosurgery and Oncology who have a special interest in neuro-oncology and who are involved in the joint neuro-oncology clinic. Robin is the Past President of the European Association of neuro-oncology. Mike Hart is a Specialty Trainee in neuro-oncology at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK.
The CGCRG links with other Cochrane Review Groups (CRGs) and the Cochrane Cancer Network to share ideas, pool resources and avoid duplication of effort. It also works with fields and methods working groups to ensure that its reviews are of the highest quality.
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Regularly updated evidence-based healthcare databases |
