Laura C Leeuwenburgh, Magdalena Holze, Dena Akhoundzadeh, Adnan Alsourani, Ricardo Alvarez Jimenez, Paul C M Andel, Charlotte Baggerman van Houweninge, Alberto Balduzzi, Caro L Bruna, Fabio Casciani, Alice Cattelani, Aniek E van Diepen, Heleen Driessens, Daphne H M Droogh, Jeska A Fritzsche, Eline van Gansewinkel, Luana Genova, Anne M Gehrels, Gonzalo Gómez Dueñas, Riccardo Guastella, Lis S M Hoeijmakers, Tijs J Hoogteijling, Ammar A Javed, Berk Kaan Aktas, Benedict Kinny-Köster, Amber Lamoré, K Seng Liem, Gabriella Lionetto, Lorenzo Lo Faro, Lisanne Lutter, Manuela Mastronardi, Carlo H Maurer, Roberto Montorsi, Julian Musa, Ingmar F Rompen, Jacobien C M Scheepens, Dana Sochorová, Thomas F Stoop, Nuray Tezcan, Bas A Uijterwijk, Roberta Vella, Federica Vernuccio, Rogier P Voermans, Mohammad Abu Hilal, Volkan Adsay, Hana Algül, Valentina Ambrosini, Livia Archibugi, Eva Backman, Sorin T Barbu, Ugo Boggi, Charlotte Borge-Andersen, Stefan Kobbelgaard Burgdorf, Alice Clarkson, Eric van Cutsem, Pieter-Jan Cuyle, Lois A Daamen, Peter De Rosa, Marcel den Dulk, Celia Diez de Los Rios, Amanda Drury, Irene Esposito, Simon M Everett, Arantza Farina Sarasqueta, Isabella Frigerio, Bas Groot Koerkamp, Thilo Hackert, Florence Huguet, Nikolaos Kartalis, Anne Letsch, Pex Langenberg, Denny Levett, Gabor Liposits, Núria Malats, Hannah van Malenstein, Giuseppe Malleo, Zorana Maravic, Giovanni Marchegiani, Ana Martins, Martijn R Meijerink, Christoph W Michalski, J Sven D Mieog, Eleni Moka, Somnath Mukherjee, Cristina Nanni, Franco Orsi, Demetris Papamichael, Stefano Partelli, Cathy Payne, Ilaria Pergolini, Dejan Radenkovic, Keith J Roberts, Roberto Salvia, Alain Sauvanet, Marta Scorsetti, Matthias Seebo, Thomas Seufferlein, Stefan Stättner, Geoffroy Vanbiervliet, Caroline S Verbeke, Thomas Volk, Jens Werner, Johanna W Wilmink, Marc Zins, Thierry Conroy, Per Pfeiffer, Michel Ducreux, Mahsoem Ali, Miranda Langendam, Yasaman Vali, Elena B Rangelova, Marc G Besselink, Multi‐Societal European Evidence‐Based Guideline on Pancreatic Cancer
BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal cancers despite extensive efforts and research conducted over the past decades. To effectuate groundbreaking improvements in pancreatic cancer treatment, interdisciplinary and international collaboration is essential. Evidence-based guidelines, including state-of-the-art evidence and expert opinion, are crucial to guide medical specialists, researchers, and patients, especially on issues where consensus is still lacking. This article describes the methodological protocol for the development of the European Multidisciplinary Evidence-Based Guideline on Pancreatic Cancer. The guideline aims to identify current knowledge gaps on pancreatic cancer management, develop questions based on these knowledge gaps, and answer these questions with evidence-based recommendations supplemented, when evidence is lacking, with expert advice for treatment and future research.
METHODS: This guideline development protocol is developed according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology. The process is structured into six stages: First, 13 theme-based multidisciplinary working groups are established, comprising representatives from 30 European medical and patient societies. Second, these working groups identify the most relevant current knowledge gaps on pancreatic cancer within their theme and formulate key questions. Third, the available evidence to answer these key questions is obtained through systematic reviews and the certainty of evidence is assessed using the GRADE approach. Fourth, recommendations are developed based on the available evidence. Fifth, all participants reach consensus on the recommendations through a modified Delphi process. Sixth, the recommendations are discussed during an open conference, including an external validation committee.
DISCUSSION: This methodological protocol of the European Multidisciplinary Evidence-Based Guideline on Pancreatic Cancer is designed to identify key knowledge gaps across 13 themes and formulate evidence-based recommendations. This guideline initiative unites 30 European medical and patient societies for pancreatic cancer.