Development and implementation of a novel metric score (SciMet) for scientific publications

There is no formal or standard measure of quality, clinical impact, and scientific merit in the current literature in gynecologic oncology besides formal citation metrics. We aimed to develop and implement a multiparametric score to identify influential articles with transformative impact in gynecology oncology. We conducted a systematic search using PubMed from January 2010 to December 2022 for gynecologic oncology publications. Publications were ranked based on citations per year, top 100 were selected. After excluding 17, 83 original articles were included. A multiparametric score (SciMet) was developed to assess its relevance and impact considering citations per year, journal impact factor, study design, sample size, and altmetric attention score; numeric scores were assigned based on quartiles. This scoring system was applied to articles with citations per year values above the median (39 articles). Thirty-nine studies were analyzed based on the score. Number of CPY ranged from 42.7 to 261.2; journal IF, from 17.76 to 202.7; and sample size from 20 to 1 672 983. The total SciMet score ranged from 17 to 47 (median of 34). The top 10 included studies addressed screening interventions for ovarian cancer, PARP inhibitors and bevacizumab use as first-line maintenance in ovarian cancer, surgical trials in cervical cancer, and HPV vaccination impact on cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or cancer development. Articles with higher scores were mostly randomized clinical trials, and besides having high metrics, led to changes in management of gynecologic cancers, resulting in their incorporation into guidelines that shape established norms in the field.