Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics (Apr 2019)
Evaluating the prevalence of diabetes mellitus subtypes in childhood cancer survivors: a systematic review protocol
Abstract
Sondra Song Jie Chen,1,2 Ajantha Nadarajah,1,2 Laura Banfield,3 Adam Fleming,1,4 Lehana Thabane,5–8 Carol Portwine,1,4 M Constantine Samaan1–2,51Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 2Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 3Health Sciences Library, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 4Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 5Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 6Department of Anesthesia, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 7Centre for Evaluation of Medicines, St Joseph’s Health Care, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 8Biostatistics Unit, St Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaObjectives: The number of children who survive cancer is reaching new record levels, thanks to improved management strategies. However, this population is predisposed to chronic health conditions including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, yet the full scale of these diagnoses in this population is unclear. This protocol describes the conduct of a systematic review to report on the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) subtypes in childhood cancer survivors.Methods: Searches will be conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. We will also search gray literature in Theses A&I, ProQuest Dissertations, and Web of Science as well as clinicaltrials.gov. Screening search results and data abstraction will be done independently by two reviewers. We will conduct a meta-analysis if two studies have similar designs, populations, methods, and outcome measures reported.Results: The findings of this systematic review will provide insights into the scale of diabetes in childhood cancer survivors to allow the prioritization of subpopulations that need specific interventions to screen, prevent, and treat DM. This will likely lead to improved outcomes in childhood cancer survivors.Keywords: systematic review protocol, childhood cancer, cancer survivorship, diabetes mellitus, type 1 diabetes mellitus, type 2 diabetes mellitus