Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia (AIN) is an increasingly common condition for which the best treatment has not been well established. Traditional management was based on a 'watch and wait' strategy, but as the natural history of AIN and its progression to anal cancer is becoming better understood, more active treatment strategies are warranted. A best evidence topic in surgery was written according to a structured protocol to address the question whether treatment is indicated in patients with AIN. A total of 169 papers were identified using the defined search criteria. This included only one randomised controlled trial. Case series were therefore also included to help answer the question. The details of the papers were tabulated including relevant outcomes and study weaknesses. We conclude that treatment of high grade AIN, particularly in high risk groups is recommended to try to avoid progression to anal cancer. Treatment options that have shown some benefit include topical use of imiquimod cream or ablation directed by high resolution anoscopy.
In vivo studies in animal models are critical tools necessary to study the fundamental complexity of carcinogenesis. A constant strive to improve animal models in cancer exists, especially those investigating the use of chemotherapeutic effectiveness. In the present systematic review, colorectal cancer (CRC) is used as an example to highlight and critically evaluate the range of reporting strategies used when investigating chemotherapeutic agents in the preclinical setting. A systematic review examining the methodology and reporting of preclinical chemotherapeutic drug studies using CRC murine models was conducted. A total of 45 studies were included in this systematic review. The literature was found to be highly heterogeneous with various cell lines, animal strains, animal ages and chemotherapeutic compounds/regimens tested, proving difficult to compare outcomes between similar studies or indeed gain any significant insight into which chemotherapeutic regimen caused adverse events. From this analysis we propose a minimum core outcome dataset that could be regarded as a standardised way of reporting results from in vivo experimentation.
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