International journal of cancer. Journal international du cancer
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Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer may reduce mortality, but it incurs considerable risk of over diagnosis and potential harm to quality of life. Our objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of PSA screening, with and without adjustment for quality of life, for the British Columbia (BC) population. We adapted an existing natural history model using BC incidence, treatment, cost and mortality patterns. ⋯ After utility adjustment, all screening strategies resulted in a loss of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs); however, this result was very sensitive to utility estimates. Plausible outcomes under a range of screening strategies inform discussion of prostate cancer screening policy in BC and similar jurisdictions. Screening may be cost-effective, but the sensitivity of results to utility values suggests individual preferences for quality versus quantity of life should be a key consideration.
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Methylation markers were studied for their suitability to triage human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive women by testing self-collected cervico-vaginal lavage specimens. For this purpose, we analyzed 355 hrHPV-positive self-collected specimens with three methylation markers, that is, CADM1-m18, MAL-m1 and miR-124-2 by quantitative methylation-specific PCR. The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve for end-point cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or worse (CIN3+) were 0.637 for CADM1-m18, 0.767 for MAL-m1 and 0.762 for miR-124-2. ⋯ At 70% specificity thresholds no carcinomas were missed. By comparison, the CIN3+ sensitivity of HPV16/18 genotyping on the self-sampled lavage specimens was 58.1% (95%CI: 46.6-68.8) at a specificity of 87.7% (95%CI: 83.2-91.2). In conclusion, methylation analysis is a promising triage tool that in combination with HPV-DNA testing offers feasible, full molecular screening on self-collected cervico-vaginal lavage specimens.
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There are limited data on the prospective risks of detecting cervical precancer and cancer in United States (US) populations specifically where the delivery of opportunistic cervical screening takes place outside managed care and in the absence of organized national programs. Such data will inform the management of women with positive screening results before and after widespread human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and establishes a baseline preceding recent changes in US cervical cancer screening guidelines. Using data reported to the statewide passive surveillance systems of the New Mexico HPV Pap Registry, we measured the 3-year HPV type-specific cumulative incidence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or more severe (CIN2+) and grade 3 or more severe (CIN3+) detected during real-world health care delivery across a diversity of organizations, payers, clinical settings, providers and patients. ⋯ A substantial proportion of CIN2+ (35.7%) and CIN3+ (30.9%) were diagnosed following negative cytology, of which 62.3 and 78.2%, respectively, were high-risk HPV positive. HPV16 had the greatest 3-year risks (10.9% for CIN2+,8.0% for CIN3+) followed by HPV33, HPV31, and HPV18. Positive results for high-risk HPV, especially HPV16, the severity of cytologic interpretation, and age contribute independently to the risks of CIN2+ and CIN3+.
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Hypoxia and dysfunctional tumor vessels represent a prominent feature of pancreatic cancer, being, at least in part, responsible for chemotherapy resistance and immune suppression in these tumors. We tested whether the increase of oxygen delivery induced in vivo by myo-inositol trispyrophosphate (ITPP) can reverse hypoxia, control tumor growth and improve chemotherapy response. Tumor size, metastatic development (microcomputed tomography scan follow-up) and the survival of rats and nude or NOD. ⋯ Growth of human pancreatic tumor xenografts was strongly inhibited by administration of ITPP. ITPP exploits a two-stage mechanism causing rapid, early and sustainable late stage normoxia. This is due to the angiogenic factor modulation and vascular normalization, leading to enhanced chemotherapy delivery and synergistic life prolongation, on combination with low doses of gemcitabine.
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Randomized clinical trials are currently examining the efficacy of a nonavalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, including HPV-types 6/11/16/18/31/33/45/52/58. Evidence on the cost-effectiveness of the nonavalent is required for timely policy-decisions. We compared the potential cost-effectiveness of the nonavalent and quadrivalent HPV vaccines. ⋯ However, the additional cost per dose of the nonavalent vaccine should not exceed $11 to remain more cost-effective than the quadrivalent vaccine, and $24 to represent a cost-effective alternative to the quadrivalent vaccine (using a $40,000/QALY-gained threshold). The nonavalent vaccine can be a cost-effective alternative to the quadrivalent vaccine, even in scenarios where nonavalent vaccine efficacy is 85%. However, because most cervical cancers are caused by HPV-16/18, it is unlikely that the nonavalent would be used if its efficacy against these types is lower than current HPV vaccines.