Literature Search
This Systematic review was designed to summarize the available data addressing the following research question, framed in the Population-Intervention-Comparator- Outcome-Study design (PICOS) framework: (Population) Patients with haematological malignancies; (Intervention) subgroup analysis; (Comparison) studies with comparator will be considered; (Outcomes), subgroup analysis; (Study design), phase III randomized clinical trials.
A systematic search was performed following Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines18. The search was performed using Mesh terms-controlled vocabulary and keywords in MEDLINE database (OVID interfaz including In-process and Epub ahead of print) between January 2013 and October 2019, to identify publications of phase III RCT assessing systemic therapies for haematological malignancies.
The search was performed on October 2019. The full literature search strategy is available at supplemental material (Appendix A).
The following criteria were used for trial selection
Eligibility criteria:
We considered eligible all published Phase III randomized clinical trials for haematological malignancies with subgroup analysis reported. Not language restriction was applied.
Exclusion criteria:
  1. Paediatric patients (<18 years of age).
  2. Pooled data from two or more trials.
  3. Studies exploring devices, behavioural or supportive care interventions.
  4. The report does not include the entire population enrolled in the original article (i.e. the report focuses on a subset of the original study population).
In cases were multiple publications from the same trial were identified, the initial publication was used for the analysis if it was published during the studied period.