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Preclinical evidence, like clinical evidence, is used to inform decisions about the safety and e icacy of treatments for participants in clinical trials.[1] Unlike clinical studies, most preclinical animal studies are not systematically reviewed, even though systematic reviews of preclinical animal studies can contribute significantly to creating more transparency regarding the possible translation from preclinical animal studies to clinical trials.[2][3][4][5][6] The expected benefits of systematic reviews of preclinical animal studies encompass stimulating better science and improving translation. Fewer than 250 systematic reviews of preclinical animal studies were published prior to 2010, whereas almost 6000 Cochrane Reviews have been published to date.

The quality of methodology and reporting of preclinical animal studies is currently inadequate,[1][7][8][9] and the use of quality and risk of bias assessments in systematic …