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Original research
Race and ethnicity reporting in endometrial cancer literature
  1. Diego Raimondo1,
  2. Antonio Raffone1,2,
  3. Angelo Maria Pezzullo3,
  4. Marisol Doglioli1,2,
  5. Pierandrea De Benedetti1,2,
  6. Pierluigi Celerino1,2,
  7. Lucia De Meis1,
  8. Manuela Maletta1,2,
  9. Arianna Raspollini1,2,
  10. Antonio Travaglino4,
  11. Maurizio Guida5,
  12. Paolo Casadio1 and
  13. Renato Seracchioli1,2
  1. 1 Division of Gynecology and Human Reproduction Physiopathology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  2. 2 Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  3. 3 Section of Hygiene, Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
  4. 4 Gynecopathology and Breast Pathology Unit, University Hospital Agostino Gemelli Department of Woman and Child Health Sciences, Rome, Italy
  5. 5 Department of Neuroscience and Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Campania, Italy
  1. Correspondence to Dr Antonio Raffone, Division of Gynecology and Human Reproduction Physiopathology, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy; anton.raffone{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Objectives There is evidence that there are differences in survival outcomes among patients with endometrial cancer of different ethnic groups. We aimed to assess the quantity and quality of race/ethnicity reporting in the literature on endometrial cancer published from January 2020 to December 2020.

Methods In this systematic review, electronic searches of PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Sciences, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases were performed for all articles published in 2020. A total of 3330 articles were reviewed, of which 949 (35%) peer-reviewed human-based articles focusing on endometrial cancer were included. Non-research-focused articles, review articles, meta-analyses, case reports, and non-human studies were excluded. We analyzed the proportion of studies reporting race/ethnicity and assessed the quality of reporting with regard to the adherence to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations. We evaluated the influence of study characteristics on race/ethnicity reporting and compared articles published in journals which adhere to the ICMJE recommendations against those that did not explicitly state that they did.

Results Of the 949 (28.5%) included articles, 166 (17.5%) reported race/ethnicity of patients, with low quality of reporting. The reporting rate of race/ethnicity was similar when comparing articles from ICMJE and non-ICMJE journals (62 (20.4%) vs 104 (16.1%); p=0.11), prospective versus retrospective studies (53 (22.7%) vs 113 (15.8%); p=0.02), and national versus international studies (147 (17.5%) vs 19 (17.4%); p=0.99). Studies performed in the WHO region of Americas were significantly more consistent in reporting race compared with other regions (119 (44.7%) vs 23 (6.8%) European, 2 (7.4%) Eastern Mediterranean, 21 (7.1%) Western Pacific, 0 (0%) South-East Asia; p<0.001). Female corresponding authors were significantly more consistent in reporting race than male authors (94 (22.5%) vs 72 (13.6%); p<0.001).

Conclusions Human-based articles focusing on endometrial cancer have a low frequency and quality of race/ethnicity reporting, even in journals claiming to follow ICMJE recommendations.

  • Endometrial Neoplasms
  • Endometrium
  • Carcinoma

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. In accordance with the journal’s guidelines, we will provide our data for independent analysis by a selected team by the Editorial Team for the purposes of additional data analysis or for the reproducibility of this study in other centers if such is requested.

https://doi.org/10.1136/ijgc-2023-004552

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available upon reasonable request. In accordance with the journal’s guidelines, we will provide our data for independent analysis by a selected team by the Editorial Team for the purposes of additional data analysis or for the reproducibility of this study in other centers if such is requested.

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors DR, AF and AMP: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, writing - original draft, writing - review and editing, project administration. PDB and MD: investigation, writing - original draft, writing - review and editing. LDM, AR, MM and PC: writing - original draft, writing - review and editing. RS, PC, MG and AT: substantial contributions to the drafting and revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. DR, AR: writing -original draft, writing - review and editing, supervision. DR: guarantor. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.