The purpose of this Question Verification Form is to enable Priority Setting Partnerships (PSPs) to describe clearly how they checked that their questions were unanswered, before starting the interim prioritisation stage of the process.
The JLA requires PSPs to be transparent and accountable in defining their own scope and evidence checking process. This will enable researchers and other stakeholders to understand how individual PSPs decided that their questions were unanswered, and any limitations of their evidence checking.
Name of the PSP
Myeloma (Canada) PSP
Please describe the scope of the PSP
The aim of the Myeloma (Canada) PSP is to identify the unanswered questions about multiple myeloma covering a wide scope, including but not limited to: (1) diagnosis (symptoms, screening, prognosis, causes), (2) treatment (options, effectiveness, side effects), (3) management, (4) living well with myeloma (caregiver impact, mental health, physical activity) from the perspective of Canadians with lived experience of multiple myeloma and healthcare professionals. The Myeloma (Canada) PSP will then prioritise those unanswered questions that Canadians with lived experience of multiple myeloma and healthcare professionals agree are the most important.
Please provide a brief overview of your approach to checking whether the questions were unanswered
The Myeloma (Canada) PSP has a broad scope, thus we took a broad approach to checking uncertainties. To capture the widest possible variety of management strategies, assessments, and treatments, we conducted a broad search for all high-quality evidence syntheses and clinical guidelines related to myeloma.
For questions going forward to the final workshop we also searched for ongoing clinical trials to gauge the volume of ongoing research and inform the priority setting process if needed.
Please list the type(s) of evidence you used to verify your questions as unanswered
High-quality evidence syntheses (e.g. systematic reviews, scoping reviews), clinical guidelines, clinical trials (published and/or in progress) when necessary
Please list the sources that you searched in order to identify that evidence
For evidence syntheses: MEDLINE All (Ovid), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Cochrane Library), Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database (Ovid)
For clinical guidelines: MEDLINE All, International Myeloma Working Group, European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Advent Health Cancer Institute (AHSI), National Institute Health and Care Excellence (NICE), SPOR Evidence Alliance Clinical Practice Guidelines Database, Google
For clinical trials (published and/or in progress): clinicaltrials.gov
What search terms did you use?
Multiple myeloma, Multiple-Myeloma, Myeloma, Myelomatosis, Kahler Disease, Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, MGUS, Benign Monoclonal Gammopathies, Smouldering Multiple Myeloma, haematological cancer (see search strategy for more details).
Please describe the parameters of the search (e.g time limits, excluded sources, country/language) and the rationale for any limitations
The initial search for systematic reviews was run on June 12, 2020.
The search for clinical practice guidelines was conducted on August 24, 2020.
Clinical trials were searched on an ad hoc basis between December 10, 2021 and January 8, 2021.
Searches were limited to the last 10 years (January 2010 – time of search).
Searches were limited to English and French only, due to the capacity of the data assessment group. Evidence from outside of Canada was considered (USA, UK & France), and was reviewed for the context of the Canadian population.
Names of individuals who undertook the evidence checking
Leah Boulos (Evidence Synthesis Coordinator (MSSU)), Samantha Fowler (Clinical Research Manager (MSSU)), Lauren McLaughlin (Clinical Research Assistant (MSSU)), Sarah Bridges (Clinical Research Assistant (MSSU)), Marc Robichaud (Research Professional (MSSU))
On what date was the question verification process completed?
January 8, 2021
Any other relevant information
None