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NEW DELHI — The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has invited expressions of interest from researchers to conduct systematic reviews and meta-analyses for generating evidence pertaining to lung cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, management and palliation.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses play a crucial role in synthesizing existing evidence to inform decision-making in the management of lung cancer to guide clinical practice and improve patient outcomes.
"Lung cancer is one of the commonest cancers in India and its incidence is rising every year. It accounts for 10 per cent of the total cancer deaths in the country. Currently, evidence-based guidelines do not exist with respect to its prevention, screening, diagnosis, management and palliation in India," the ICMR said.
Systematic review teams will be commissioned to conduct rigorous evaluations of the available literature on specific 30 review questions identified by the Guideline Development Group of lung cancer guidelines.
As far as prevention is concerned, the researchers will have to generate evidence on the link between tobacco smoking, air pollution and lung cancer.
The ICMR further stated that the novel process has been instituted within the Ministry of Health to collaboratively formulate a comprehensive set of evidence-based guidelines for the country.
This initiative involves the concerted efforts of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the Directorate General of Health Services and the Department of Health Research.
It is a rigorous and robust scientific process, ensuring the integration of the latest evidence. The process of generating such evidence entails compilation of systematic reviews and meta-analyses from the existing literature, focusing on well-defined review questions.