Evidence-based Evaluation of Global Guidelines for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (Excepting Nasopharynx Cancer)

Objective To review and evaluate the basic contents and development of the current global clinical guidelines for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Methods　Seven databases, PubMed, Embase, NGC(U.S. National Guideline Clearing-house), CMA infobase(the Canadian Medical Association Infobase), GIN(the Guidelines International Network), SIGN(the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network) and the CMAdisc, were screened according to the predefi ned inclusion and exclusion criteria. The number of clinical guidelines was counted and the quality of guidelines was also assessed by AGREE( Appraisal of Guideline for REsearch and Evaluation) Ⅱ. Results　A total of 514 articles were found to be clinical guideline-related and 49 articles were fi nally included. The guidelines were issued by 15 countries/regions, mainly by American, Canada and UK. Mean scores of six domains were 71.63%, 43.37%, 45.63%, 68.08%, 32.41% and 42.55%, respectively. Conclusion　The quality of otorhinolaryngology guidelines in China is not high. China can be drawn lessons from the AGREE system and combined with domestic actual condition to making high level clinical guidelines.