Response to the Letter to the Editor: Recalibrating evidence: a cautionary note on the use of post hoc thresholds in IPD meta-analyses
We are grateful to the author of the letter for his interest in our recent paper, ‘Role of the calcium stimulation test in diagnosing medullary thyroid cancer: is it adequate to achieve a diagnosis in both sexes? An individual patient data meta-analysis’ in the European Thyroid Journal (2025), and for his comments on the methodological aspects of our IPD meta-analysis. We would like to clarify our methodological choices and address the concerns raised. Regarding the absence of PROSPERO registration, we recognize that registration would have improved transparency. We defined the analytic framework and objectives before conducting the analyses at the ‘NIKE’ (Neuroendocrine tumors Innovation Knowledge and Education) workshop held by Prof. Annamaria Colao, Prof. Antongiulio Faggiano, and Prof. Andrea M Isidori. The aim of the workshop was to boost the advancement of knowledge in various aspects of neuroendocrinology. However, we recognize the value of protocol registration to limit potential bias. This limitation was acknowledged in our paper, and we agree that future research should adopt protocol registration as a standard practice.
Authors
- Federica Campolo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9290-874X)
- Pasquale Dolce (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7588-6067)
- Federica Grillo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6477-3182)
- Soraya Olana
- Pasqualino Malandrino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2474-0954)
- Rossella Mazzilli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6707-3413)
- Elisa Giannetta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3614-6151)
- Andrea Lania (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5380-2141)
- Antongiulio Faggiano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9324-3946)
- Maria Grazia Tarsitano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3500-0591)
- M Salducci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4270-3022)
- Paola Crivelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4324-7439)
- Giovanna Muscogiuri
- Anna La Salvia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5020-8657)
- Marco Gallo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7166-0848)
- Roberta Modica (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3768-5803)
- Valentina Di Vito
- Elia Guadagno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0438-1491)
- Gabriella Pugliese
- Alice Plebani
- Roberta Centello
- Fabio Lo Calzo
- Tiziana Feola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1066-0064)
- Barbara Altieri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2616-3249)
- Nazarena Betella (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1791-789X)
- Manuela Albertelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5957-3247)
- Alberto Ragni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9278-8939)
- Alessandro Veresani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2915-616X)
- Maria Chiara Zatelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8408-7796)
- Giuseppe Fanciulli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8367-5649)
- Giulia Puliani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2899-9146)
- Elisabetta Lavezzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1377-8108)
- Valentina Guarnotta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8088-4947)
- Sergio Di Molfetta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3454-7330)
- Giuseppe Cannavale (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8524-1131)
- Nevena Mikovic (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0102-531X)
- Erika Grossrubatcher
- Roberto Minotta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8823-0702)
- Luigi Barrea (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9054-456X)
- Emanuele Filice (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9358-3502)
- Manila Rubino
- Francesco Ferraù
- Alessandra Dicitore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0887-5242)
- Filomena Bottiglieri
- Sara Di Meglio
- Severo Campione (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8414-8333)
- Alessia Cozzolino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8614-5873)
- Virginia Zamponi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2422-9673)
- Isabella Zanata
- Franz Sesti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3850-627X)
- Rosaria Maddalena Ruggeri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8899-684X)
- Andrea Dotto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0140-7297)
- Chiara Martini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0877-4954)
- Giovanni Vitale (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2478-683X)
- Andrea Maria Isidori (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9037-5417)
- Annamaria Colao
- Genoveffa Pizza
- Federica de Cicco
- Erika Messina
- Karl J. Friston
Institutions
- Policlinico Umberto I (IT)
- Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo (IT)
- Magna Graecia University (IT)
- Federico II University Hospital (IT)
- Azienda Ospedaliera Sant'Andrea (IT)
- University of Naples Federico II (IT)
- University of Genoa (IT)
- Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
- University of Palermo (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- European Thyroid Journal
- Published
- 2025-11-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1530/etj-25-0323
- Primary Topic
- Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00