What we are about


The Cochrane Gynaecological Cancer Review Group (CGCRG) is part of the Cochrane Collaboration. 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.

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 Every effort is made to find unpublished trials to avoid bias.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 a co-ordinating editor, Chris Williams, whose responsibility is 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:

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:

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.

Although we make every attempt to keep material up-to-date and relevant, we welcome suggestions for improvements. Site managed by Clare Jess and Gail Quinn.