Search

Summary: Background: Evidence‐based medicine (EBM) is a key aspect of medical training that can be challenging for trainees to learn. Tumour boards (TBs) are multidisciplinary meetings that are often opportunities for trainees to deliver patient case presentations, which is another integral part of medical education; however, TBs are time intensive, typically lack academic structure and may fail to emphasise EBM. Objective: To design a systematic approach to improve both trainee satisfaction and the level of evidence cited at typical academic TBs. Methods: From 2017 to 2018, Plan–Do–Study–Act (PDSA) methodology was used to develop a systematic approach for medical oncology trainees towards TBs. Statistical testing was used to assess which characteristics of a patient case made it more difficult to apply EBM. Anonymous surveys were distributed to trainees before and after the intervention to assess the educational utility. Results: We developed a shared voluntary case database, so that references with higher levels of evidence could be rapidly recalled and applied to similar cases. We then developed EBM‐focused review sessions to highlight database trends. Both the database and the review sessions had high participation rates (>90% cases had voluntary data entry), and each were reported to have educational value by trainees. Conclusions: A two‐step implementation of an easy‐to‐use case database followed by review sessions focused on high‐yield sources of evidence improved trainee satisfaction for TBs, but did not significantly improve the strength of the evidence cited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The letter to the editor in Leukemia & Lymphoma discusses the link between a high Ki67 index and shorter progression-free survival in patients with Follicular Lymphoma undergoing frontline immunochemotherapy. The study underscores the significance of Ki67 as a prognostic factor for evaluating the proliferative activity of lymphoma cells. Research conducted at two tertiary care medical centers revealed that an IF Ki67 index ≥ 30% was associated with an elevated risk of disease progression, emphasizing the necessity for further investigations to identify predictive baseline characteristics in Follicular Lymphoma. The study examined the correlation between FLIPI/Ki67 (FKi) score and progression-free survival (PFS) in FL patients receiving frontline immunochemotherapy, with the FKi score predicting an increased risk of progression and being linked to PFS. Despite limitations like a retrospective analysis and a small sample size, the study suggests the potential value of integrating Ki67 into prognostic indices for FL, calling for additional research to validate these findings and explore the incorporation of FLIPI and Ki67 in contemporary FL treatment protocols. [Extracted from the article]