Kato 1995.

Study characteristics
Patient sampling	Type of study: unclear whether prospective or retrospective study. Consecutive or random sample: unclear.
Patient characteristics and setting	Sample size: 24. Females: not stated. Age: not stated. Presentation: Patients with pancreatic masses. Setting: secondary care, Japan.
Index tests	Index test: PET. Further details: Technical specifications: HEADTOME‐IV (Shimadzu Corporation). Performed by: not stated. Criteria for positive diagnosis: not stated.
Target condition and reference standard(s)	Target condition: cancerous versus benign. Reference standard: surgical excision, open laparotomy biopsy or clinical follow‐up for at least 3 years. Further details: Technical specifications: not applicable. Performed by: clinicians. Criteria for positive diagnosis: not stated.
Flow and timing	Number of indeterminates for whom the results of reference standard were available: not stated. Number of patients who were excluded from the analysis: not stated.
Comparative
Notes
Methodological quality
Item	Authors' judgement	Risk of bias	Applicability concerns
DOMAIN 1: Patient Selection
Was a consecutive or random sample of patients enrolled?	Unclear
Was a case‐control design avoided?	Yes
Did the study avoid inappropriate exclusions?	Unclear
		Unclear	High
DOMAIN 2: Index Test Cancerous versus benign ‐ PET
If a threshold was used, was it pre‐specified?	Unclear
Were the index test results interpreted without knowledge of the results of the reference standard?	Unclear
		Unclear	High
DOMAIN 3: Reference Standard
Is the reference standards likely to correctly classify the target condition?	Unclear
Were the reference standard results interpreted without knowledge of the results of the index tests?	Unclear
		Unclear	Low
DOMAIN 4: Flow and Timing
Was there an appropriate interval between index test and reference standard?	Unclear
Did all patients receive the same reference standard?	No
Were all patients included in the analysis?	Unclear
		High