Systematic literature reviews (SLRs) aim to summarize available evidence for specific health questions; however, traditional SLRs can be quickly outdated. LSRs have been proposed to overcome this limitation, particularly within rapidly evolving therapy areas such as SLE. The therapeutic goals of SLE previously focused on survival but are moving towards therapy‑related side effects and organ damage, with growing attention on health-related quality of life and biologics.

OBJECTIVES: Outline current evidence published within SLE, detailing methods and cadence of LSRs.

METHODS: Two literature searches were conducted, 19/12/2022 and 12/03/2024, in Embase and Medline using LiveSLR™. Broad, generalizable inclusion criteria were applied to capture clinical evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and real-world evidence (RWE). LiveSLR™ filters were predefined to promote data customizability. Relevant data were manually extracted, with automated SLR reports generated using the LiveSLR™ platform.

RESULTS: The 2022 database searches returned 1737 records, of which 70 publications from 12 unique studies were included. In 2024, 535 new records were captured, of which 18 publications from 12 unique studies were added.

Belimumab, anifrolumab, dapirolizumab pegol, and deucravacitinib showed promising results in RCTs. RWE studies supported the belimumab RCT results, but RWE was lacking for other treatments.

The LiveSLR™ platform enabled automatic report generation aligning with health technology assessment requirements. The report contained seven tables with combined interventional and RWE data (downloaded within ~2 minutes) and 14 tables with independent interventional and RWE data (requiring an additional 4 minutes). Overall, the ~6-minute report update and generation using the LiveSLR™ platform saved ~56 hours versus human-only SLR generation, equating to a 99.8% efficiency improvement.

CONCLUSIONS: An SLR search update 16 months after the primary search generated 18 new publications, providing a significant addition to the available evidence on current therapy options. The update provides insight into the appropriate cadence for LSRs and highlights efficiencies gained with LiveSLR™.