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- Dalgard, Olav, et al.
(författare)
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Pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin for 14 versus 24 weeks in patients with hepatitis C virus genotype 2 or 3 and rapid virological response
- 2008
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Ingår i: Hepatology. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0270-9139 .- 1527-3350. ; 47:1, s. 35-42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A recent nonrandomized pilot trial showed that hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients with genotype 2/3 and rapid virological response (RVR) had a 90% sustained virological response (SVR) rate after 14 weeks of treatment. We aimed to assess this concept in a randomized controlled trial. In the trial, 428 treatment-naïve HCV RNA–positive patients with genotype 2 or 3 were enrolled. Patients with RVR were randomized to 14 (group A) or 24 (group B) weeks of treatment. Patients were treated with pegylated interferon α-2b (1.5 μg/kg) subcutaneously weekly and ribavirin (800-1400 mg) orally daily. The noninferiority margin was set to be 10% between the two groups with a one-sided 2.5% significance level. RVR was obtained in 302 of 428 (71%), and 298 of these were randomized to group A (n = 148) or group B (n = 150). In the intention-to-treat analysis, SVR rates were 120 of 148 (81.1%) in group A and 136 of 150 (90.7%) in group B (difference, 9.6%; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-17.7). Among patients with an HCV RNA test 24 weeks after the end of treatment, 120 of 139 (86.3%) patients in group A achieved SVR compared with 136 of 146 (93.2%) in group B (difference, 6.9%; 95% confidence interval, −0.1 to +13.9). Conclusion: We cannot formally claim that 14 weeks of treatment is noninferior to 24 weeks of treatment. However, the SVR rate after 14 weeks of treatment is high, and although longer treatment may give slightly better SVR, we believe economical savings and fewer side effects make it rational to treat patients with genotype 2 or 3 and RVR for only 14 weeks.
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| 2. |
- Hoff, Geir, et al.
(författare)
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Risk of colorectal cancer seven years after flexible sigmoidoscopy screening : randomised controlled trial
- 2009
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Ingår i: BMJ. British Medical Journal. - : BMJ. - 0959-8146 .- 0959-535X. ; 338, s. b1846-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of colorectal cancer after screening with flexible sigmoidoscopy. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Population based screening in two areas in Norway-city of Oslo and Telemark county (urban and mixed urban and rural populations). PARTICIPANTS: 55 736 men and women aged 55-64 years. INTERVENTION: Once only flexible sigmoidoscopy screening with or without a single round of faecal occult blood testing (n=13 823) compared with no screening (n=41 913). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Planned end points were cumulative incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer after 5, 10, and 15 years. This first report from the study presents cumulative incidence after 7 years of follow-up and hazard ratio for mortality after 6 years. RESULTS: No difference was found in the 7 year cumulative incidence of colorectal cancer between the screening and control groups (134.5 v 131.9 cases per 100 000 person years). In intention to screen analysis, a trend towards reduced colorectal cancer mortality was found (hazard ratio 0.73, 95% confidence interval 0.47 to 1.13, P=0.16). For attenders compared with controls, a statistically significant reduction in mortality was apparent for both total colorectal cancer (hazard ratio 0.41, 0.21 to 0.82, P=0.011) and rectosigmoidal cancer (0.24, 0.08 to 0.76, P=0.016). CONCLUSIONS: A reduction in incidence of colorectal cancer with flexible sigmoidoscopy screening could not be shown after 7 years' follow-up. Mortality from colorectal cancer was not significantly reduced in the screening group but seemed to be lower for attenders, with a reduction of 59% for any location of colorectal cancer and 76% for rectosigmoidal cancer in per protocol analysis, an analysis prone to selection bias. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical trials NCT00119912.
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