Compare interventions
Each comparison fixes one precisely-defined outcome and lines up every intervention measured against it—varied treatments for the same problem, on one axis. Interventions are not pooled together; populations differ, so relative effects are comparable but absolute benefit is not.
Skin cancer prevention
Preventing new skin cancers. Compare interventions on a specific cancer type—relative effects are broadly comparable, but baseline risk (general vs high-risk populations) differs, so absolute benefit/NNT is not.
| Outcome (the question) | Interventions | Best result |
|---|---|---|
| New squamous-cell carcinoma | 5 | Topical 5-fluorouracil for skin cancer prevention (75% lower) |
| New basal-cell carcinoma | 5 | Celecoxib for skin cancer prevention (56% lower) |
| New nonmelanoma skin cancer | 3 | Celecoxib for skin cancer prevention (57% lower) |
Cardiovascular event prevention
Preventing cardiovascular events. All-cause mortality and the individual components are cleanly matchable; the "major cardiovascular events" composite is not—its definition varies by trial.
| Outcome (the question) | Interventions | Best result |
|---|---|---|
| All-cause mortality | 3 | CoQ10 in Chronic Heart Failure (Q-SYMBIO) (42% lower) |
| Stroke | 2 | Statins for primary prevention (36% lower) |
| Major cardiovascular events (composite) definitions vary | 4 | CoQ10 in Chronic Heart Failure (Q-SYMBIO) (43% lower) |