Annals of internal medicine
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Surveillance with annual mammography and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is recommended for female survivors of childhood cancer treated with chest radiation, yet benefits, harms, and costs are uncertain. ⋯ American Cancer Society and National Institutes of Health.
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Long-term use of oral corticosteroids has known adverse effects, but the risk from brief oral steroid bursts (≤14 days) is largely unknown. ⋯ National Health Research Institutes, Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan, Chang Gung Medical Foundation, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
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Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common bloodborne pathogen in the United States, chronically affecting approximately 2.4 million Americans, most of whom are unaware of the infection. Highly effective, well-tolerated therapies are now available with markedly simplified treatment algorithms. ⋯ Increased efforts to extend access to treatment to populations that traditionally are difficult to treat, such as persons who inject drugs, are critical to achieving eradication. Given the magnitude of the disease burden, an increased role of primary care providers in screening, patient stratification, and treatment will be needed.
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In comparative studies, treatment effect is often assessed using a binary outcome that indicates response to the therapy. Commonly used summary measures for response include the cumulative and current response rates at a specific time point. The current response rate is sometimes called the probability of being in response (PBIR), which regards a patient as a responder only if they have achieved and remain in response at present. ⋯ Although discussed extensively in the statistical literature, estimation of the current response rate curve has garnered little attention in the medical literature. This article illustrates how to construct and analyze such a curve using data from a recent study for treating renal cell carcinoma. Clinical trialists are encouraged to consider this robust and clinically interpretable procedure as an additional tool for evaluating treatment effects in clinical studies.