DNA alterations in ovarian adult granulosa cell tumours: A scoping review protocol

BACKGROUND: Identifying and describing molecular alterations in tumors has become common with the development of high-throughput sequencing. However, DNA sequencing in rare tumors, such as ovarian adult granulosa cell tumor (aGCT), often lacks statistical power due to the limited number of cases in each study. Questions regarding personalized treatment or prognostic biomarkers for recurrence or other malignancies therefore still need to be elucidated. This scoping review protocol aims to systematically map the current evidence and identify knowledge gaps regarding DNA alterations, actionable variations and prognostic biomarkers in aGCT.

METHODS: This scoping review will be conducted based on Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework and later modifications by JBI Evidence Synthesis. The protocol complies with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews. All original publications describing molecular alterations of aGCT will be included. The search will be performed in May 2024 in the following databases: MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), Web of Science Core Collection and Google Scholar (100-top ranked).

DISCUSSION: This scoping review will identify knowledge and gaps in the current understanding of the molecular landscape of aGCT, clinical trials on actionable variations and priorities for future research. As aGCT are rare, a possible limitation will be the small sample sizes and heterogenic study settings.

SCOPING REVIEW REGISTRATION: The review protocol is registered at Open Science Framework under https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/PX4MF.