Citation bias in imaging research: are studies with higher diagnostic accuracy estimates cited more often?

Frank, Robert; Sharifabadi, Anahita Dehmoobad; Salameh, Jean‐Paul; McGrath, Trevor A.; Kraaijpoel, Noémie; Dang, Wilfred; Li, Nicole; Gauthier, Isabelle; Wu, Mark; Bossuyt, Patrick M.; Levine, Deborah; McInnes, Matthew D. F.

doi:10.1007/s00330-018-5801-8

Cited by 26 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Also, it has been documented that wide disease spectrum, non-consecutive recruitment, open-label reading of tests, and retrospective data collection were associated with higher estimate of diagnostic accuracy [35]. In this review [33,36], the proportion of high-risk patients varied from 17 to 100%, approximately 50% of the trials stated consecutive recruitment, and blinding of readers were seldom reported. There were five prospective trials, but only one prospective, interventional trial with consecutive enrollment [33].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

PSMA PET for primary lymph node staging of intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer: an expedited systematic review

Petersen

Zacho

2020

Cancer Imaging

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Background: PSMA PET is a promising method for primary lymph node staging in prostate cancer. However, recent systematic reviews have identified only a limited number of studies with histopathology as a reference test. Methods: A systematic search was performed in PubMed and the Cochrane Library. An expedited systematic review was performed where we identified diagnostic studies in prostate cancer where a preoperative PSMA PET for primary lymph node staging was compared to histopathology. The trials must have diagnostic data on a patient level. Results: Eighteen eligible clinical trials included 969 patients. The median patient number per study was 32 (range 10 to 208). Five trials were prospective, and nine trials had a consecutive enrolment of patients. Sixteen studies used Ga-68-PSMA-11; there was one study with Cu-64-PSMA and one study with F-18-DCDFPyL. Twelve studies used PET/CT, four trials used PET/MR. Most trials included patients with intermediate and high-risk. Diagnostic accuracy varied notably among the studies; sensitivity ranged from 23 to 100%, specificity 67-100%, positive predictive value 20-100%, and negative predictive value 41-100%. Weighted sensitivity was 59%, weighted specificity was 93%. Four studies compared PSMA PET with anatomical imaging (CT or MRI); in all cases, sensitivity and specificity were superior with PSMA PET. Three studies compared PSMA PET with multi-parametric or diffusion-weighted MRI with mixed results. Conclusions: PSMA PET showed promising diagnostic accuracy for primary lymph node staging with pathology as reference. Recommendation for PSMA PET for high-risk patients in clinical guidelines should be supported by confirmatory, prospective trials with patient-relevant outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

PSMA PET for primary lymph node staging of intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer: an expedited systematic review

Petersen

Zacho

2020

Cancer Imaging

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“…Such analysis may also permit an assessment of the impact of specific authors and their affiliated institutions, research journals and countries of origin. Citation counts are influenced by factors such as the level and hierarchy of evidence [5], the presence of statistically significant results [6,7], and title length [8]. Indeed, similar findings have been corroborated in the radiology literature [9].…”

Section: Open Accessmentioning

confidence: 60%

The 100 top-cited meta-analyses of diagnostic accuracy in radiology journals: a bibliometric analysis

Yaxley

2020

Insights Imaging

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Purpose To identify the 100 top-cited meta-analyses of diagnostic accuracy studies published in radiology, medical imaging and nuclear medicine journals. Methods A PubMed search with pre-defined criteria was performed. The 100 top-cited articles meta-analyses were retrieved, using a custom Python script and the Scopus Application Programming Interface (Elsevier). Publication, citation and affiliation details were extracted from each meta-analysis. No formal statistical analysis was performed. Results The top meta-analysis was cited 394 times, the 100th meta-analysis 38 times. The USA was the top country represented in the papers (33 meta-analyses) followed by The Netherlands, China and Germany. The journal Radiology published 24 studies. The most common modality reported was positron emission tomography (PET) or PET computed tomography (36 instances), followed by magnetic resonance imaging (30 instances) and computed tomography (27 instances). Cardiac (19 meta-analyses), abdominal (18 meta-analyses), followed by neurological (12 meta-analyses) investigations were the most frequently encountered in the top 100 cited meta-analyses. Conclusions The 100 top-cited meta-analyses encompass a broad range of imaging modalities and body regions. This may comprise a useful resource for identifying influential evidence-based diagnostic accuracy information in radiology.

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“…Critics of citation analysis note that many citations may be perfunctory or redundant, as opposed to significant ones that stimulate a new idea, provide a new method, or otherwise provide an integral part of the citing paper [ 79 ]. Authors may not even cite key influences on their work at all because they are not in a convenient citable form or because of ‘traditional non-citation’ for some sources such as established experimental or analytical techniques [ 5 ], or exercise conscious or sub-conscious bias in selecting studies to cite (for example, a tendency to cite positive studies more than negative ones is noted in fields as diverse as ecotoxicology [ 7 ], diagnostic imaging [ 80 ], and biomedical science [ 6 , 8 ]). Thus, the high citations reported are indicative of use, but not necessarily of quality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for Citation Networks in Studies of Free-Roaming Cats: A Case Study Using Literature on Trap–Neuter–Return (TNR)

Calver

Fleming

2020

Animals

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Trap–Neuter–Return and its variants (hereafter TNR) aims to control unowned cat populations. Papers on this topic form a useful case study of how how an area of literature grows, papers become influential, and citation networks form, influencing future study as well as public perceptions of the science. We analysed 145 TNR studies published 2002–2019. Common topics, identified by frequently used language, were population control, interactions with wildlife, disease transmission (including implications for pets, wildlife and humans), free-roaming cats, and feral and domestic cat management. One or more papers on each of these topics was judged influential because of high citations overall, high average citations/year, or frequent mentions in social media. Open Access papers were more influential in social media, raising greater public awareness than studies published in journals that were less accessible. While divergent views exist on a range of topics, the network analysis of the TNR literature indicated potential for forming self-reinforcing groups of authors. While it is encouraging that diverse views are expressed, there is a risk of reduced dialogue interactions between groups, potentially constraining dialogue to refine arguments, share information, or plan research. Journal editors could encourage communication by choosing reviewers from different camps to assess manuscripts and by asking authors to acknowledge alternative views.

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Citation bias in imaging research: are studies with higher diagnostic accuracy estimates cited more often?

Cited by 26 publications

References 27 publications

PSMA PET for primary lymph node staging of intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer: an expedited systematic review

PSMA PET for primary lymph node staging of intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer: an expedited systematic review

The 100 top-cited meta-analyses of diagnostic accuracy in radiology journals: a bibliometric analysis

Evidence for Citation Networks in Studies of Free-Roaming Cats: A Case Study Using Literature on Trap–Neuter–Return (TNR)

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