Technical Support Document (TSD) 20 in Action — What to Consider When Using Multivariate Meta- or Network Meta-Analyses (NMA) to Support HTA Oncology Submissions

PURPOSE: To offer the audience a better understanding of multivariate meta-analysis (MA) or NMA methods outlined in NICE TSD 20 and how to use them to cohesively analyse the relative efficacy of a treatment for two or more correlated endpoints.

DESCRIPTION: The possibility of better estimating the comparative efficacy for a new intervention or to fill in evidence gaps by borrowing information across a trial evidence base and outcomes is appealing. Indeed, analysing certain outcomes, such as PFS and OS in one cohesive analysis seems a natural extension to univariate MA or NMA given the underlying connection between these outcomes. The recent NICE TSD 20 guidance outlines how to conduct analyses that capture the link between outcomes using multivariate MA or NMA. However, these methods are complex, and it is challenging to apply them to support HTA submissions.

To address this and support others who are interested in using these methods, we propose a workshop split into three stages after Patricia Guyot introduces the session and the speakers (10 minutes). In Stage 1 (11 minutes) Miranda Cooper will outline the motivation for using these methods and their potential use for HTA submissions. This stage will also introduce some of the challenges and practical considerations when using these methods in HTA. Given the complexity of these methods, in Stage 2 (12 minutes) Sylwia Bujkiewicz will guide the audience through the theory of the methods described in TSD 20. In stage 3 (12 minutes), Oriana Ciani will present a framework for handling surrogate outcomes based submissions with reference to case studies demonstrating the practical implementation of these methods. The panel will conduct live polls throughout the session and finish with a Q&A session to explore audiences understanding of these methods and their interest in using these (15 minutes).