1. |
- Bentham, James, et al.
(author)
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A century of trends in adult human height
- 2016
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In: eLIFE. - 2050-084X. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.522.7) and 16.5 cm (13.319.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries.
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2. |
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3. |
- Bentham, James, et al.
(author)
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A century of trends in adult human height
- 2016
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In: eLIFE. - : eLife Sciences Publications Ltd. - 2050-084X. ; 5
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.5–22.7) and 16.5 cm (13.3– 19.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8– 144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries.
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4. |
- Andersson, Therese M. -L., et al.
(author)
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Estimating the cure proportion of malignant melanoma, an alternative approach to assess long term survival : A population-based study
- 2014
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In: Cancer Epidemiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-7821 .- 1877-783X. ; 38:1, s. 93-99
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: A large proportion of patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) do not experience excess mortality due to their disease. This group of patients is referred to as the cure proportion. Few studies have examined the possibility of cure for CMM. The aim of this study was to estimate the cure proportion of patients with CMM in a Swedish population. Methods: We undertook a population-based study of 5850 CMM patients in two Swedish health care regions during 1996-2005. We used flexible parametric cure models to estimate cure proportions and median survival times (MSTs) of uncured by stage, sex, age and anatomical site. Results: Disease stage at diagnosis was the most important factor for the probability of cure, with a cure proportion of approximately 1.0 for stage IA. While the probability of cure decreased with older age, the influence of age was smaller on the MST of uncured. Differences in prognosis between males and females were mainly attributed to differences in cure as opposed to differences in MST of uncured. Conclusions: This population-based study showed approximately 100% cure among stage IA disease. Almost 50% of patients had stage IA disease and the high cure proportion for this large patient group is reassuring.
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5. |
- Andersson, Therese M-L, et al.
(author)
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The loss in expectation of life after colon cancer : a population-based study
- 2015
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In: BMC Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2407. ; 15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: To demonstrate how assessment of life expectancy and loss in expectation of life can be used to address a wide range of research questions of public health interest pertaining to the prognosis of cancer patients. Methods: We identified 135,092 cases of colon adenocarcinoma diagnosed during 1961-2011 from the population-based Swedish Cancer Register. Flexible parametric survival models for relative survival were used to estimate the life expectancy and the loss in expectation of life. Results: The loss in expectation of life for males aged 55 at diagnosis was 13.5 years (95 % CI 13.2-13.8) in 1965 and 12.8 (12.4-13.3) in 2005. For males aged 85 the corresponding figures were 3.21 (3.15-3.28) and 2.10 (2.04-2.17). The pattern was similar for females, but slightly greater loss in expectation of life. The loss in expectation of life is reduced given survival up to a certain time point post diagnosis. Among patients diagnosed in 2011, 945 life years could potentially be saved if the colon cancer survival among males could be brought to the same level as for females. Conclusion: Assessment of loss in expectation of life facilitates the understanding of the impact of cancer, both on individual and population level. Clear improvements in survival among colon cancer patients have led to a gain in life expectancy, partly due to a general increase in survival from all causes.
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7. |
- Bower, Hannah, et al.
(author)
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Life Expectancy of Patients With Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Approaches the Life Expectancy of the General Population
- 2016
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In: Journal of Clinical Oncology. - 0732-183X .- 1527-7755. ; 34:24, s. 2851-2858
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSE: A dramatic improvement in the survival of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) occurred after the introduction of imatinib mesylate, the first tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). We assessed how these changes affected the life expectancy of patients with CML and life-years lost as a result of CML between 1973 and 2013 in Sweden.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients recorded as having CML in the Swedish Cancer Registry from 1973 to 2013 were included in the study and followed until death, censorship, or end of follow-up. The life expectancy and loss in expectation of life were predicted from a flexible parametric relative survival model.RESULTS: A total of 2,662 patients with CML were diagnosed between 1973 and 2013. Vast improvements in the life expectancy of these patients were seen over the study period; larger improvements were seen in the youngest ages. The great improvements in life expectancy translated into great reductions in the loss in expectation of life. Patients of all ages diagnosed in 2013 will, on average, lose < 3 life-years as a result of CML.CONCLUSION: Imatinib mesylate and new TKIs along with allogeneic stem cell transplantation and other factors have contributed to the life expectancy in patients with CML approaching that of the general population today. This will be an important message to convey to patients to understand the impact of a CML diagnosis on their life. In addition, the increasing prevalence of patients with CML will have a great effect on future health care costs as long as continuous TKI treatment is required.
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8. |
- Bower, Hannah, et al.
(author)
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Reply to D. Pulte et al.
- 2017
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In: Journal of Clinical Oncology. - : American Society of Clinical Oncology. - 0732-183X .- 1527-7755. ; 35:6, s. 696-697
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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9. |
- Eloranta, Sandra, et al.
(author)
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How can we make cancer survival statistics more useful for patients and clinicians : an illustration using localized prostate cancer in Sweden
- 2013
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In: Cancer Causes and Control. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0957-5243 .- 1573-7225. ; 24:3, s. 505-515
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Studies of cancer patient survival typically report relative survival or cause-specific survival using data from patients diagnosed many years in the past. From a risk-communication perspective, such measures are suboptimal for several reasons; their interpretation is not transparent for non-specialists, competing causes of death are ignored and the estimates are unsuitable to predict the outcome of newly diagnosed patients. In this paper, we discuss the relative merits of recently developed alternatives to traditionally reported measures of cancer patient survival. In a relative survival framework, using a period approach, we estimated probabilities of death in the presence of competing risks. To illustrate the methods, we present estimates of survival among 23,353 initially untreated, or hormonally treated men with intermediate- or high-risk localized prostate cancer using Swedish population-based data. Among all groups of newly diagnosed patients, the probability of dying from prostate cancer, accounting for competing risks, was lower compared to the corresponding estimates where competing risks were ignored. Accounting for competing deaths was particularly important for patients aged more than 70 years at diagnosis in order to avoid overestimating the risk of dying from prostate cancer. We argue that period estimates of survival, accounting for competing risks, provide the tools to communicate the actual risk that cancer patients, diagnosed today, face to die from their disease. Such measures should offer a more useful basis for risk communication between patients and clinicians and we advocate their use as means to answer prognostic questions.
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10. |
- Lambert, Paul C., et al.
(author)
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Temporal trends in the proportion cured for cancer of the colon and rectum : a population-based study using data from the Finnish Cancer Registry
- 2007
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 121:9, s. 2052-2059
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide and the second most common cancer in Europe. Cumulative relative survival curves for both cancer of the colon and cancer of the rectum generally plateau after approximately 6-8 years. When this occurs, "population" or "statistical" cure is reached. We analyzed data from the Finnish Cancer Registry over a 50-year period using methods that simultaneously estimate the proportion of patients cured of disease (the cure fraction) and the survival time distribution of the "uncured" group. Our primary aim was to investigate temporal trends in the cure fraction and median survival of the uncured by age group for both cancer of the colon and rectum. For both cancers, the cure fraction has increased dramatically over time for all age groups. However, the difference in the cure fraction between age groups has reduced over time, particularly for cancer of the colon. Median survival in the uncured has also increased over time in all age groups but there still remains an inverse relationship between age and median survival, with shorter median survival with increasing age. The reasons for these impressive increases in patient survival are complex, but are highly likely to be strongly related to many improvements in cancer care over this same time period.
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11. |
- Weibull, Caroline E, et al.
(author)
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Contemporarily Treated Patients With Hodgkin Lymphoma Have Childbearing Potential in Line With Matched Comparators
- 2018
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In: Journal of Clinical Oncology. - : American Society of Clinical Oncology. - 0732-183X .- 1527-7755. ; 36:26, s. 2718-2725
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose With excellent cure rates for young patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), there is an increasing number of female survivors of HL interested in becoming pregnant. Here, we report childbearing among contemporarily treated HL survivors in comparison with the general population. Material and Methods Using Swedish registers, 449 women (ages 18 to 40 years) diagnosed with HL between 1992 and 2009 and in remission 9 months after diagnosis were identified. Patients were age- and calendar-year-matched to 2,210 population comparators. Rates of first postdiagnosis childbirth were calculated. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs were estimated for different follow-up periods using Cox regression. Cumulative probabilities of first childbirth were calculated in the presence of the competing risk of death or relapse. Results Twenty-two percent of relapse-free patients with HL had a child during follow-up, and first childbirth rates increased over time, from 40.2 per 1,000 person-years (1992 to 1997) to 69.7 per 1,000 person-years (2004 to 2009). For comparators, childbirth rates remained stable (70.1 per 1,000 person-years). Patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2009 had a cumulative probability of childbirth similar to comparators. Three years or more after diagnosis, no differences in childbirth rates were observed between patients and comparators, regardless of stage or treatment. Patients who received six to eight courses of bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone had a lower childbirth rate than comparators during the first 3 years (HR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.94), as did patients who received six to eight courses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy (HR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.65). Conclusion Childbearing potential among female survivors of HL has improved over time, and childbirth rates 3 years after diagnosis in contemporarily treated patients are, in the absence of relapse, similar to those in the general population, regardless of stage and treatment.
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12. |
- Weibull, Caroline E., et al.
(author)
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Temporal trends in treatment-related incidence of diseases of the circulatory system among Hodgkin lymphoma patients
- 2019
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : WILEY. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 145:5, s. 1200-1208
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survival has improved, treatment-related complications remain a concern. As a measure of treatment-related diseases of the circulatory system (DCS) we report excess incidence of DCS and absolute risks among HL patients diagnosed in the modern treatment era. From the Swedish Cancer Register, we identified all HL patients diagnosed 1985 through 2013, at ages 18-80 years. Excess incidence rate ratios (EIRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing excess DCS incidence between calendar periods were estimated overall, and at 5 and 10 years after diagnosis using flexible parametric models. Model-based predictions were used to obtain probabilities of being diagnosed with DCS, in the presence of competing risks. During follow-up, 726 (16%) of the 4,479 HL patients experienced DCS. Overall, the excess DCS incidence was lower during all calendar periods compared to the first (2009-2013 vs. 1985-1988: EIRR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.42-0.95). The 5- and 10-year excess incidence of DCS decreased between 1985 and 1994 for 25-year-olds (5-year-EIRR1994 = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.12-0.92) and 60-year-olds (5-year-EIRR1994 = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.24-0.88), but remained stable thereafter. No improvements were observed among 75-year-olds. The probability of excess DCS remained the same throughout the study period. In 2009, the percentage of patients aged 25, 60 and 75 experiencing excess DCS within 5 years was 3.4, 15.0 and 17.0% (males) and 2.3, 10.8 and 12.6% (females). Treatment-related incidence of DCS has declined since the mid-1980s, but more recent improvements are absent and an excess risk remains. Continued efforts towards less toxic treatments are warranted, alongside primary prevention strategies.
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13. |
- Bairkdar, Majd, et al.
(author)
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Survival in Swedish patients with systemic sclerosis : A nationwide population-based matched cohort study
- 2023
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In: Rheumatology (United Kingdom). - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1462-0324 .- 1462-0332. ; 62:3, s. 1170-1178
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: To conduct the first-ever nationwide, population-based cohort study investigating survival patterns of all patients with incident SSc in Sweden compared with matched individuals from the Swedish general population. Methods: We used the National Patient Register to identify patients with incident SSc diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 and the Total Population Register to identify comparators (1:5), matched on sex, birth year and residential area. We followed them until death, emigration or the end of 2016. Follow-up of the general population comparators started the same date as their matched patients were included. We estimated all-cause survival using the Kaplan-Meier method, crude mortality rates and hazard ratios (HRs) using flexible parametric models. Results: We identified 1139 incident patients with SSc and 5613 matched comparators. The median follow-up was 5.0 years in patients with SSc and 6.0 years for their comparators. During follow-up, 268 deaths occurred in patients with SSc and 554 in their comparators. The 5-year survival was 79.8% and the 10-year survival was 67.7% among patients with SSc vs 92.9% and 84.8%, respectively, for the comparators (P < 0.0001). The mortality rate in patients with SSc was 42.1 per 1000 person-years and 15.8 per 1000 person-years in their comparators, corresponding to an HR of 3.7 (95% CI 2.9, 4.7) at the end of the first year of follow-up and 2.0 (95% CI 1.4, 2.8) at the end of the follow-up period. Conclusion: Despite advances in understanding the disease and in diagnostic methods over the past decades, survival is still severely impacted in Swedish patients diagnosed with SSc between 2004 and 2015.
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14. |
- Bergmark, Karin, et al.
(author)
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Patient-rating of distressful symptoms after treatment for early cervical cancer.
- 2002
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In: Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0001-6349 .- 1600-0412. ; 81:5, s. 443-450
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: More refined information on sources of symptom-induced distress in a patient population can improve the quality of pretreatment information, make follow-up visits more efficient and guide research priorities in the efforts to modify treatments.METHODS: In a population-based epidemiological study covering all of Sweden, data were collected 1996-97 by means of an anonymous postal questionnaire. We attempted to enroll all 332 patients with stage IB-IIA cervical cancer registered in 1991-92 at the seven departments of gynecological oncology in Sweden.RESULTS: A total of 256 cases (77%) completed the questionnaire. After surgery, alone or in combination with intracavitary radiotherapy, several symptoms related to sexual dysfunction are the primary sources of symptom-induced distress (reduced orgasm frequency: much distress 23% (surgery alone) and 23% (intracavitary radiotherapy and surgery), respectively, overall intercourse dysfunction: much distress 17% and 20%, respectively, followed by lymphedema (much distress 14% and 14%, respectively). Dyspareunia (much distress 24%) and defecation urgency (much distress 22%) are two leading causes of distress after surgery and external radiotherapy. After treatment with radiotherapy alone, loose stool and dyspareunia were the two most distressful symptoms (much distress 19% each). When a symptom occurs, fecal leakage and reduced orgasm frequency are the two most distressful ones (measured as much distress, 38% each).CONCLUSIONS: The observed symptoms are distressful and should, if one focuses on patient satisfaction, be given priority.
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15. |
- Bergmark, Karin, et al.
(author)
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Vaginal changes and sexuality in women with a history of cervical cancer.
- 1999
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In: New England Journal of Medicine. - 0028-4793 .- 1533-4406. ; 340:18, s. 1383-1389
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: In women with cervical cancer, treatment causes changes in vaginal anatomy and function. The effect of these changes on sexual function and the extent, if any, to which they distress women are not known.METHODS: In 1996 and 1997, we attempted to contact 332 women with a history of early-stage cervical cancer (age range, 26 to 80 years) who had been treated in 1991 and 1992 at the seven departments of gynecological oncology in Sweden and 489 women without a history of cancer (controls) to ask them to answer an anonymous questionnaire about vaginal changes and sexual function.RESULTS: We received completed questionnaires from 256 of the women with a history of cervical cancer and 350 of the controls. A total of 167 of 247 women with a history of cancer (68 percent) and 236 of 330 controls (72 percent) reported that they had regular vaginal intercourse. Twenty-six percent of the women who had cancer and 11 percent of the controls reported insufficient vaginal lubrication for sexual intercourse, 26 percent of the women who had cancer and 3 percent of the controls reported a short vagina, and 23 percent of the women who had cancer and 4 percent of the controls reported an insufficiently elastic vagina. Twenty-six percent of the women who had cancer reported moderate or much distress due to vaginal changes, as compared with 8 percent of the women in the control group. Dyspareunia was also more common among the women who had cervical cancer. The frequency of orgasms and orgasmic pleasure was similar in the two groups. Among the women who had cervical cancer, the type of treatment received had little if any effect on the prevalence of specific vaginal changes.CONCLUSIONS: Women who have been treated for cervical cancer have persistent vaginal changes that compromise sexual activity and result in considerable distress.
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17. |
- Björkholm, Magnus, et al.
(author)
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Greater attention should be paid to developing therapies for elderly patients with Hodgkin lymphoma : A population-based study from Sweden
- 2018
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In: European Journal of Haematology. - : WILEY. - 0902-4441 .- 1600-0609. ; 101:1, s. 106-114
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: Forty percent of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients are older than 50years at diagnosis, a fact which is not commonly recognized. Older patients do significantly worse than younger patients and are rarely included in clinical trials.Methods: Using data from Swedish Cancer and Lymphoma Registries, we estimated relative survival ratios (RSRs) for 7997 HL patients (diagnosed 1973-2013; 45% 50years).Results: The 1-year RSRs (95% confidence interval; CI) for males aged 45-59, 60-69, 70-80, and 81years and over, diagnosed in 2013, were 0.95 (0.91-0.97), 0.88 (0.81-0.92), 0.74 (0.63-0.81), and 0.52 (0.35-0.67), respectively. The corresponding 1-year RSRs for females were 0.97 (0.94-0.98), 0.91 (0.85-0.95), 0.82 (0.73-0.88), and 0.66 (0.50-0.77). No improvements in 1-year of 5-year relative survival from 2000 to 2013 were observed for patients aged 45-59 or 60-69 but there were modest improvements for patients aged 70years and older. Importantly, we saw no changes in the distribution of disease or patient characteristics between 2000 and 2013.Conclusions: Elderly patients constitute a large group with clearly unmet medical needs. Our findings motivate a more active approach to including elderly patients in clinical trials. Our study provides a baseline for outcome comparison after the broader introduction of targeted drugs.
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18. |
- Björkholm, Magnus, et al.
(author)
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Success Story of Targeted Therapy in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia : A Population-Based Study of Patients Diagnosed in Sweden From 1973 to 2008
- 2011
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In: Journal of Clinical Oncology. - 0732-183X .- 1527-7755. ; 29:18, s. 2514-2520
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) management changed dramatically with the development of imatinib mesylate (IM), the first tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting the BCR-ABL1 oncoprotein. In Sweden, the drug was approved in November 2001. We report relative survival (RS) of patients with CML diagnosed during a 36-year period. Patients and Methods Using data from the population-based Swedish Cancer Registry and population life tables, we estimated RS for all patients diagnosed with CML from 1973 to 2008 (n = 3,173; 1,796 males and 1,377 females; median age, 62 years). Patients were categorized into five age groups and five calendar periods, the last being 2001 to 2008. Information on use of upfront IM was collected from the Swedish CML registry. Results Relative survival improved with each calendar period, with the greatest improvement between 1994-2000 and 2001-2008. Five-year cumulative relative survival ratios (95% CIs) were 0.21 (0.17 to 0.24) for patients diagnosed 1973-1979, 0.54 (0.50 to 0.58) for 1994-2000, and 0.80 (0.75 to 0.83) for 2001-2008. This improvement was confined to patients younger than 79 years of age. Five-year RSRs for patients diagnosed from 2001 to 2008 were 0.91 (95% CI, 0.85 to 0.94) and 0.25 (95% CI, 0.10 to 0.47) for patients younger than 50 and older than 79 years, respectively. Men had inferior outcome. Upfront overall use of IM increased from 40% (2002) to 84% (2006). Only 18% of patients older than 80 years of age received IM as first-line therapy. Conclusion This large population-based study shows a major improvement in outcome of patients with CML up to 79 years of age diagnosed from 2001 to 2008, mainly caused by an increasing use of IM. The elderly still have poorer outcome, partly because of a limited use of IM.
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19. |
- Cnattingius, Sven, et al.
(author)
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Placental weight and risk of invasive epithelial ovarian cancer with an early age of onset
- 2008
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In: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 17:9, s. 2344-2349
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Epithelial ovarian cancer is associated with reproductive factors, but we lack knowledge if hormonal factors during pregnancy influence the mother's risk. Because pregnancy hormones are primarily produced by the placenta, placental weight may be an indirect marker of hormone exposure during pregnancy. Methods: In a nationwide Swedish cohort study, we included women with singleton births from 1982 to 1989. Women were followed for occurrence of invasive epithelial ovarian cancer, death, or emigration through 2004. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) from Cox models were used to estimate associations between pregnancy exposures and epithelial ovarian cancer. Results: Among 395,171 women with information on placental weight in their first recorded birth, 316 women developed invasive epithelial ovarian cancer. Mean age at diagnosis was 44 years. Compared with women with a placental weight of 500 to 699 g, women with a high (>= 700 g) placental weight had an increased risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer (HR, 1.47, 95% CI, 1.14-1.90). Compared with women with term pregnancies (40-41 weeks), women with post-term (>= 42 weeks) pregnancies had an increased risk of developing epithelial ovarian cancer (HR, 1.48, 95% CI, 1.00-2.19). These associations were slightly stronger when we included information about women's overall first birth, and slightly weaker when we included information about last recorded birth or ever last birth from 1982 to 1989. Conclusions: Because pregnancy hormone levels increase with placental weight, our study supports the hypothesis that hormone exposures during pregnancy influence the risk of invasive epithelial ovarian cancer among young women.
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20. |
- Eaker, Sonja, et al.
(author)
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Differences in management of older women influence breast cancer survival : results from a population-based database in Sweden
- 2006
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In: PLoS Medicine. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1549-1676. ; 3:3, s. e25-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Several reports have shown that less aggressive patterns of diagnostic activity and care are provided to elderly breast carcinoma patients. We sought to investigate whether differences in the management of older women with breast cancer are associated with survival. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In an observational study using a population-based clinical breast cancer register of one health-care region in Sweden, we identified 9,059 women aged 50-84 y diagnosed with primary breast cancer between 1992 and 2002. The 5-y relative survival ratio was estimated for patients classified by age group, diagnostic activity, tumor characteristics, and treatment. The 5-y relative survival for breast cancer patients was lower (up to 13%) in women 70-84 y of age compared to women aged 50-69 y, and the difference was most pronounced in stage IIB-III and in the unstaged. Significant differences in disease management were found, as older women had larger tumors, had fewer nodes examined, and did not receive treatment by radiotherapy or by chemotherapy as often as the younger women. Adjustment for diagnostic activity, tumor characteristics, and treatment diminished the relative excess mortality in stages III and in the unstaged, whereas the excess mortality was only marginally affected in stage IIB. CONCLUSIONS: Less diagnostic activity, less aggressive treatment, and later diagnosis in older women are associated with poorer survival. The large differences in treatment of older women are difficult to explain by co-morbidity alone.
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21. |
- Eaker, Sonja, et al.
(author)
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Regional differences in breast cancer survival despite common guidelines
- 2005
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In: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 14:12, s. 2914-8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSE: Despite a uniform regional breast cancer care program, breast cancer survival differs within regions. We therefore examined breast cancer survival in relation to differences in diagnostic activity, tumor characteristics, and treatment in seven Swedish counties within a single health care region. METHODS: We conducted a population-based observational study using a clinical breast cancer register in one Swedish health care region. Eligible women (n = 7,656) ages 40 to 69 years diagnosed with primary breast cancer between 1992 and 2002 were followed up until 2003. The 7-year relative survival ratio was used to estimate breast cancer survival. Excess mortality was modeled using Poisson regression to study differences in survival between counties. RESULTS: The 7-year relative survival for breast cancer patients was significantly lower (up to 7% in absolute risk difference) in one county (county A) compared with the others. This difference existed only among women diagnosed before 1998, ages 50 to 59 years, and was strongest among stage II breast cancer patients. Adjustment for amount of diagnostic activity eliminated the survival differences among the counties. The amount of diagnostic activity was also lower in county A during the same time period. After county A, during 1997-1998, began to adhere strictly to the regional breast cancer care program, neither any survival differences nor diagnostic activity differences were observed. INTERPRETATIONS: Markers of diagnostic activity explained survival differences within our region, and the underlying mechanisms may be several. Low diagnostic activity may entail later diagnosis or inadequate characterization of the tumor and thereby missed treatment opportunities. Strengthening of multidisciplinary management of breast cancer can improve survival.
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22. |
- Genell, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Model selection in Medical Research: A simulation study comparing Bayesian Model Averaging and Stepwise Regression.
- 2010
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In: BMC medical research methodology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2288. ; 10:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Automatic variable selection methods are usually discouraged in medical research although we believe they might be valuable for studies where subject matter knowledge is limited. Bayesian model averaging may be useful for model selection but only limited attempts to compare it to stepwise regression have been published. We therefore performed a simulation study to compare stepwise regression with Bayesian model averaging. Methods We simulated data corresponding to five different data generating processes and thirty different values of the effect size (the parameter estimate divided by its standard error). Each data generating process contained twenty explanatory variables in total and had between zero and two true predictors. Three data generating processes were built of uncorrelated predictor variables while two had a mixture of correlated and uncorrelated variables. We fitted linear regression models to the simulated data. We used Bayesian model averaging and stepwise regression respectively as model selection procedures and compared the estimated selection probabilities. Results The estimated probability of not selecting a redundant variable was between 0.99 and 1 for Bayesian model averaging while approximately 0.95 for stepwise regression when the redundant variable was not correlated with a true predictor. These probabilities did not depend on the effect size of the true predictor. In the case of correlation between a redundant variable and a true predictor, the probability of not selecting a redundant variable was 0.95 to 1 for Bayesian model averaging while for stepwise regression it was between 0.7 and 0.9, depending on the effect size of the true predictor. The probability of selecting a true predictor increased as the effect size of the true predictor increased and leveled out at between 0.9 and 1 for stepwise regression, while it leveled out at 1 for Bayesian model averaging. Conclusions Our simulation study showed that under the given conditions, Bayesian model averaging had a higher probability of not selecting a redundant variable than stepwise regression and had a similar probability of selecting a true predictor. Medical researchers building regression models with limited subject matter knowledge could thus benefit from using Bayesian model averaging.
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24. |
- Herbst, Filip, et al.
(author)
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Increased incidence and improved survival in endometrial cancer in Sweden 1960-2014 : a population-based registry survey
- 2023
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In: BMC Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2407. ; 23, s. 1-11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: An investigation of trends of incidence and net survival (NS) for endometrial cancer in Sweden.METHODS: Morphologically verified endometrial carcinoma diagnosed 1960 to 2014 were collected from the nation-wide Swedish Cancer Registry. Endometrial cancer patients were assessed with regards to time trends for incidence and 54,825 cases remained for survival analyses. Cases diagnosed 1995 to 2014 were categorized according to detailed morphology and from 2005 to 2014 FIGO stage was also categorized.RESULTS: There was a trend of increasing incidence of endometrial carcinoma for women above 55 years of age. NS was improved at 5- and 10-year follow-up. The 5-year net survival in 2010-2014 was 86%. The most prominent improvement in NS was found in the elderly women above 75 years of age.CONCLUSIONS: This study observed increased incidence of endometrial cancer in Sweden from 1960 to 2014. The progress in diagnostics and treatment, seem to have improved the net survival, especially in elderly women.
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