Review for 10.1186/s12876-020-01560-0 (2020)

Reviewer’s report
Title: 
Prognostic value of Glypican family genes in early-stage pancreatic ductal
adenocarcinoma after pancreaticoduodenectomy and possible mechanisms
Version: 
1 
Date: 
12 Sep 2020
Reviewer's report:
1.      The figures are in low qualities, please provide figures with high qualities!
2.      What is the meaning of the Figure 4.
3.      The GPC family member was only associated with survival, and
multivariate COX regression was not performed to explore whether it was an
independent prognostic factor.
4.      There were so many factors included in the nomogram. What were the
criteria for inclusion of these clinical features?
5.      Since they all belong to a same family and show similar functions, it makes
little sense to combine the three GENES of the GPC family for survival analysis.
6.      Only one single database validation was performed, and the credibility was
very low. It is recommended to combine other databases or their own data.
7.      The English of your manuscript must be improved before resubmission.
We strongly suggest it should be polished up by a native speaker.
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Is the study design appropriate to answer the research question (including the use
of appropriate controls), and are the conclusions supported by the evidence
presented?
No
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Yes
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from apparent manipulation?
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