Abstract
While earlier studies on men having sex with men (MSM) tended to examine infection-related cancers, an increasing number of studies have been focusing on effects of sexual orientation on other cancers and social and cultural causes for cancer disparities. As a type of tertiary research, this umbrella review (UR) aims to synthesize findings from existing review studies on the effects of sexual orientation on cancer. Relevant peer-reviewed systematic reviews (SRs) will be identified without date or language restrictions using MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews, among others. The research team members will prepare the data extraction forms. Two reviewers will independently assess extracted SRs using the Assessment of Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews. A third reviewer will weigh in to resolve discrepancies. The reviewers will be blinded to publisher, journal, and authors, making their judgements on the title, year, and abstract. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis checklist will guide data synthesis. By collating evidence from multiple reviews into one accessible and usable document, our first UR on global epidemiology of malignancies among MSM would serve as an evidence-based decision-making tool for the public health community.
Highlights
Cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with an estimated 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths in 2018
The term “men who have sex with men” (MSM), according to the Joint United Nations Programme on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS (UNAIDS) Action Framework [2], is used to describe males who have sex with other males, regardless of whether or not they have sex with women or have a personal or social identity associated with that behavior, such as being “gay” or “bisexual”
As a type of tertiary research, an umbrella review (UR) is a systematic collection and assessment of several systematic reviews done on a specific research topic or question [25,27]
Summary
Cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with an estimated 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths in 2018. If recent trends in cancer incidence and population growth continue globally, there may be 27.5 million new cancer cases globally each year by 2040. This estimate is an increase of 61.7% from 2018. The term “men who have sex with men” (MSM), according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) Action Framework [2], is used to describe males who have sex with other males, regardless of whether or not they have sex with women or have a personal or social identity associated with that behavior, such as being “gay” or “bisexual”.
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