2011 National Guideline Clearinghouse | Antiemetics (nausea): American Society of Clinical Oncology clinical practice guideline update.

Guideline Title:

Antiemetics: American Society of Clinical Oncology clinical practice guideline update.

also note: 

FDA Warning/Regulatory Alert

Note from the National Guideline Clearinghouse: This guideline references a drug(s) for which important revised regulatory and/or warning information has been released.

• September 15, 2011 – Zofran (ondansetron) : The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified healthcare professionals and patients of an ongoing safety review and labeling changes for the anti-nausea drug Zofran (ondansetron, ondansetron hydrochloride and generics). Ondansetron may increase the risk of developing prolongation of the QT interval of the electrocardiogram, which can lead to an abnormal and potentially fatal heart rhythm, including Torsade de Pointes.

2012 Publication of Consensus Guidelines on Safety and Quality Indicators in Endoscopy - Canadian Assoc of Gastroenterology

  News Release: January 23, 2012

Publication of Consensus Guidelines on Safety and Quality Indicators in Endoscopy
Media Release (English) (French)
Backgrounder (English) (French)
Consensus Summary
Consensus Paper

BMJ Group blogs: Liz Wager: Do we need to rethink our approaches to research misconduct and research integrity?

"....Having failed to start a reasonable conversation about research integrity, based on major scandals, we see no point in trying to address so-called “minor” offences. But as Iain Chalmers said at the meeting, “lesser offences,” such as failing to publish research and publishing welcome results more often than disappointing results, harms many more patients than the high profile scandals (since it distorts the evidence on which guidelines and clinical practice are based). While plagiarism may be a nasty symptom of a sick system, it has probably never killed anybody while unreliable guidelines and misguided research undoubtedly have....."

Apr 2011: free full access - Recognition and initial management of ovarian cancer: summary of NICE guidance -- bmj.com

Note: guidelines include Carboplatin alone in high-risk early stage; IP for advanced stage ovarian cancer via clinical trial/s (which brings up the question as to the availability of trials??) Future research What is the relationship between the duration and frequency of symptoms in women with ovarian cancer before diagnosis, and the stage of disease at diagnosis and subsequent survival? What is the optimum threshold on the risk of malignancy index I (RMI I) that should be applied in secondary care to guide the management of women with suspected ovarian cancer? How does computed tomography compare with magnetic resonance imaging in accuracy of staging and prediction of optimal cytoreduction? Answering this will require large, multicentre case-control studies. What are the cost effectiveness and risks of systematic retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy in women whose ovarian cancer seems to be confined to the ovaries? Answering this will require a prospective randomised trial. What is the effectiveness of primary surgery in women with advanced ovarian cancer that cannot be fully excised?

Clinical practice guidelines as marketing tools -- Collier 183 (3): E141 -- Canadian Medical Association Journal

Blogger's Note: bias exist no matter the source, what does matter is the degree and ultimately the intent (ethics)
 ....................................................................................
"If the guidelines are funded by government or private donors, a bias toward recommending particular pharmaceuticals may not be present."

full free access: Guidelines Loading... American Society of Hematology Guidelines Epoetin and Darbepoetin

Guidelines

American Society of Hematology Guidelines

Epoetin and Darbepoetin
"American Society of Hematology/American Society of Clinical Oncology 2010 clinical practice guideline update on the use of epoetin and darbepoetin"The latest research and evidence-based clinical guidelines about the use of epoetin for the treatment of cancer-related anemia.

• Unabridged Guideline
• Data Supplement 
  
  "Future directions
  There is clear evidence regarding the ability of ESAs to increase
  Hb and avoid transfusions. There is also evidence of harm
  associated with their use. Perhaps the most pressing need for
  additional research is studies that further clarify the mechanisms of
  harm and, particularly, the groups of patients or circumstances of
  clinical use that are least associated with these risks. This understanding
  is paramount to the ability of clinicians to extend the
  benefit of these drugs while reducing the risks."

National Guideline Clearinghouse | Initial evaluation and referral guidelines for management of pelvic/ovarian masses 2009

Guideline Title

Initial evaluation and referral guidelines for management of pelvic/ovarian masses.

Bibliographic Source(s)

Le T, Giede C, Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), Gynecologic Oncologists of Canada (GOC), Society of Canadian Colposcopists (SCC). Initial evaluation and referral guidelines for management of pelvic/ovarian masses. Practice guideline. J Obstet Gynaecol Can 2009 Jul 01;(230):668-73.

Guideline Status

This is the current release of the guideline.

ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines Regarding BRCA Gene Mutations, Ovarian Cancer & Supportive Cancer Care « Libby's H*O*P*E*

full free access: - Women's Health - Ovarian cancer biomarker screening: still too early to tell

"In 2004, the US Preventive Services Task Force (amongst other countries/guidelines) recommended against routine ovarian cancer screening [102]. None of the more recent findings overide this guideline. We must await the results of the two large-scale trials. Whether the results are positive or not, these trials will yield vital data to guide the next steps in biomarker research and subsequent guidelines for practice."

Abstract/full free access: Adherence to cancer screening guidelines across Canadian provinces: an observational study

Note:

1) study period - "We calculated age-cancer-specific screening rates for ages 40-60 using the Canadian Community Health Survey (2003 and 2005), a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of health status, health care utilization and health determinants in the Canadian population."
2) includes: breast, mammography, PSA

Review and revision of guidelines for ovarian cancer in Japan (abstract)

A survey of members of the Japan Society of Gynecologic Oncology revealed that 93% of the members use the present Guideline for Ovarian Cancer Treatment in practice.

'New' Evidence for Clinical Practice Guidelines: 'New' Evidence for Clinical Practice Guidelines: Should we Search for 'Preference Evidence'?

Abstract

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are systematically developed statements to assist both patient and practitioner decisions. They link the practice of medicine more closely to the body of underlying evidence, shift the burden of evidence review from the individual practitioner to experts, and aim to improve the quality of care. CPGs do not routinely search for or include evidence related to patients' values and preferences.

We argue that they should.

We think that such evidence can tell us whether a decision is preference sensitive; how patients feel about important health outcomes, treatment goals, and decisions; and whether preferences vary in different types of patients. The likely effects of reviewing the literature are a general sensitization to the importance of preferences in decision making, the recognition that some decisions are simply all about preferences, a more considered approach to forming preferences among patients and other stakeholders, and more effective integration of preferences into decisions.