Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Dermatology
Date Submitted: Oct 5, 2021
Date Accepted: Jan 3, 2022
Date Submitted to PubMed: Aug 26, 2023
Spin in Abstracts of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Melanoma Therapies: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Spin is defined as the misrepresentation of a study’s results, which may lead to misperceptions or misinterpretation of the findings. Spin has previously been found in randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews of acne vulgaris treatments and treatments of various non-dermatological conditions.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to quantify the presence of spin in abstracts of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of melanoma therapies and identify any related secondary characteristics of these articles.
Methods:
e used a cross-sectional approach on June 2, 2020, to search the MEDLINE and Embase databases from their inception. To meet inclusion criteria, a study was required to be a systematic review or meta-analysis pertaining to the treatment of melanoma in human subjects, and reported in English. We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols (PRISMA) definition of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Data were extracted in a masked, duplicate fashion. We conducted a powered bivariate linear regression and calculated odds ratios for each study characteristic.
Results:
A total of 200 systematic reviews met the inclusion criteria. We identified spin in 38% of the abstracts. The most common type of spin found was type 3, occurring 40 times; the least common was type 2, which was not present in any included abstracts. We found that abstracts pertaining to pharmacologic interventions were 3.84 times more likely to contain spin than the reference group. The likelihood of an article containing spin has decreased annually (AOR: 0.91; 95% CI, 0.84-0.99). No significant correlation between funding source, other study characteristics, and the presence of spin was identified.
Conclusions:
We have found that spin is fairly common in the abstracts of systematic reviews of melanoma treatments, but is improving.
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