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11 January 2023

Launch of website for the Mapping the Evidence for the WHO Classification of Tumours: a Living Evidence Gap Map by Tumour Type (WCT EVI MAP) project

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has launched a new website dedicated to the Mapping the Evidence for the World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumours: a Living Evidence Gap Map by Tumour Type (WCT EVI MAP) project. This project has been developed under the umbrella of the International Collaboration for Cancer Classification and Research (IC3R) and has received funding from the European Commission.

The goal of the WCT EVI MAP project is to optimize research on cancer diagnosis by mapping the needs identified by the WHO Classification of Tumours using an evidence-based approach. This 4-year project will be of enormous value to those involved in cancer diagnosis and cancer research as well as to those funding research.

The main deliverable will be an overview of the existing evidence for the WHO Classification of Tumours series (also known as the WHO Blue Books), with an emphasis on mapping existing evidence gaps and identifying pockets of low-level evidence, as well as relevant evidence synthesis and continuous updating. The launch of the website coincided with the publication of two major articles from the WCT EVI MAP project team.

The first article, “Phyllodes tumour evidence gaps mapped from the 5th edition of the WHO Classification of Tumours of the Breast”, is the first-ever publication of an evidence gap map from a WHO Blue Book, the volume on tumours of the breast. This work, led by Dr Puay Hoon Tan from Singapore, improves the understanding of the current evidence base of the WHO Blue Books, which is the starting point for future improvements. Its results demonstrate the low-level evidence in the main source of information for these tumours and will lead to better-quality studies, which are currently lacking or have not yet been produced by the research community.

The second article, “Machine learning computational tools to assist the performance of systematic reviews: a mapping review”, led by IARC, provides a high-quality map of currently available machine-learning software to assist the performance of systematic reviews. The WCT EVI MAP project has a special interest in promoting the use of specialized software for the performance of evidence gap mapping and evidence-based practice. This kind of methodology requires reviewing massive amounts of data, where the use of computational assistance could greatly facilitate the performance of these methodologies.

The WCT EVI MAP project team is currently working on adapting a hierarchy for the levels of evidence in the field of pathology via a Delphi study method, and results are expected by the end of 2023.

Visit the WCT EVI MAP website

Read “Phyllodes tumour evidence gaps mapped from the 5th edition of the WHO Classification of Tumours of the Breast”

Read “Machine learning computational tools to assist the performance of systematic reviews: a mapping review”

More information about the Delphi study 

Follow the WCT EVI MAP Twitter account 

View the WCT EVI MAP LinkedIn page 

Publication status

Published in section: IARC News

Publication date: 11 January, 2023, 8:30

Direct link: https://www.iarc.who.int/news-events/launch-of-website-for-the-mapping-the-evidence-for-the-who-classification-of-tumours-a-living-evidence-gap-map-by-tumour-type-wct-evi-map-project/

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