Showing papers by "Timo Hakulinen published in 2012"
TL;DR: Random error in numbers of avoidable deaths, often substantial, can be quantified by realistic error margins, based on appropriate statistical methods.
Abstract: Random error in the numbers of avoidable deaths among cancer patients has not been considered in earlier studies. Methods to obtain valid confidence intervals (CIs) for numbers of avoidable deaths were developed. The excess mortality rates were estimated for patients diagnosed with colon cancer in five cancer control regions in Finland during 2000–2007 using a relative survival regression model. Numbers of avoidable deaths due to colon cancer and other causes, respectively, were estimated in different scenarios. Altogether, 4139 and 1335 out of 10 772 patients under 90 years at diagnosis were estimated to have died due to colon cancer and other causes, respectively, during the first 5 years after diagnosis. If all the patients had shared the relative survival of the largest cancer control region to which the country capital belongs, the estimated number of avoidable deaths would have been 146 (95% CI 3–290). Random error in numbers of avoidable deaths, often substantial, can be quantified by realistic error margins, based on appropriate statistical methods.
14 citations
TL;DR: Pregnancy incidence and outcome among patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia: a retrospective cohort study is reported on.
12 citations
TL;DR: Long distances to medical care or Sami ethnicity have no influence on the cancer patient survival in Northern Finland.
Abstract: Objectives. The incidence of cancer among the indigenous Sami people of Northern Finland is lower than among the Finnish general population. The survival of Sami cancer patients is not known, and therefore it is the object of this study. Study design. The cohort consisted of 2,091 Sami and 4,161 non-Sami who lived on 31 December 1978 in the two Sami municipalities of Inari and Utsjoki, which are located in Northern Finland and are 300-500 km away from the nearest central hospital. The survival experience of Sami and non-Sami cancer patients diagnosed in this cohort during 1979-2009 was compared with that of the Finnish patients outside the cohort. Methods. The Sami and non-Sami cancer patients were matched to other Finnish cancer patients for gender, age and year of diagnosis and for the site of cancer. An additional matching was done for the stage at diagnosis. Cancer-specific survival analyses were made using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression modelling. Results. There were 204 Sami and 391 non-Sami cancer cases in the cohort, 20,181 matched controls without matching with stage, and 7,874 stage-matched controls. In the cancer-specific analysis without stage variable, the hazard ratio for Sami was 1.05 (95% confidence interval 0.85-1.30) and for non-Sami 1.02 (0.86-1.20), indicating no difference between the survival of those groups and other patients in Finland. Likewise, when the same was done by also matching the stage, there was no difference in cancer survival. Conclusion. Long distances to medical care or Sami ethnicity have no influence on the cancer patient survival in Northern Finland. Keywords: Sami; cancer; cancer survival; arctic population (Published: 2 July 2012) Citation: Int J Circumpolar Health 2012, 71 : 18959 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v71i0.18959
3 citations
TL;DR: A more comprehensive evaluation of the accuracy of standard errors including age-standardised survival and estimation by the Ederer II method shows that overestimations ofStandard errors are effectively overcome by age standardisation and by using Ederer I rather than Hakulinen's method.
Abstract: Standard errors of non-standardised and age-standardised relative survival of cancer patients
3 citations