Clinical Trial Service Unit

About: Clinical Trial Service Unit is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Stroke. The organization has 428 authors who have published 1387 publications receiving 181920 citations.

Tobacco Smoking, Smoking Cessation, and Cumulative Risk of Upper Aerodigestive Tract Cancers

Abstract: Upper aerodigestive tract cancers are strongly related to smoking, and their incidence is substantially lower in former smokers than in continuing smokers. To estimate the effect of smoking cessation on the cumulative incidence of these cancers by age 75 years (in the absence of competing causes of death), the authors combined odds ratios for males from a network of Italian hospital-based case-control studies (1984-2000) with 1993-1997 incidence data for Italian men. The studies included 961 cases with oral/pharyngeal cancer, 618 cases with esophageal cancer, and 613 cases with laryngeal cancer, plus 3,781 controls. For all upper aerodigestive tract cancers, the cumulative risks by 75 years of age were 6.3% for men who continued to smoke any type of tobacco, 3.1% and 1.2% for men who stopped smoking at around 50 and 30 years of age, respectively, and 0.8% among lifelong nonsmokers. Corresponding figures were 3.3%, 1.4%, 0.5%, and 0.2% for oral/pharyngeal cancer; 1.0%, 0.5%, 0.4%, and 0.2% for esophageal cancer; and 2.1%, 1.1%, 0.2%, and 0.2% for laryngeal cancer. In this Italian population, men who stopped smoking before age 50 years avoided more than half of the excess risk of upper aerodigestive tract cancer as men who did not, and men who stopped smoking before age 30 years avoided more than 90% of the risk.

Prospective investigation of risk factors for prostate cancer in the UK Biobank cohort study.

Abstract: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in British men but its aetiology is not well understood. We aimed to identify risk factors for prostate cancer in British males. We studied 219 335 men from the UK Biobank study who were free from cancer at baseline. Exposure data were collected at recruitment. Prostate cancer risk by the different exposures was estimated using multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models. In all, 4575 incident cases of prostate cancer occurred during 5.6 years of follow-up. Prostate cancer risk was positively associated with the following: black ethnicity (hazard ratio black vs white=2.61, 95% confidence interval=2.10–3.24); having ever had a prostate-specific antigen test (1.31, 1.23–1.40); being diagnosed with an enlarged prostate (1.54, 1.38–1.71); and having a family history of prostate cancer (1.94, 1.77–2.13). Conversely, Asian ethnicity (Asian vs white hazard ratio=0.62, 0.47–0.83), excess adiposity (body mass index (⩾35 vs <25 kg m−2=0.75, 0.64–0.88) and body fat (⩾30.1 vs <20.5%=0.81, 0.73–0.89)), cigarette smoking (current vs never smokers=0.85, 0.77–0.95), having diabetes (0.70, 0.62–0.80), and never having had children (0.89, 0.81–0.97) or sexual intercourse (0.53, 0.33–0.84) were related to a lower risk. In this new large British prospective study, we identified associations with already-established, putative and possible novel risk factors for being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Future research will examine associations by tumour characteristics.

Global health trials methodological research agenda: results from a priority setting exercise

Abstract: Methodological research into the design, conduct, analysis and reporting of trials is essential to optimise the process. UK specialists in the field have established a set of top priorities in aid of this research. These priorities, however, may not be reflected in the needs of similar research in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) with different healthcare provision, resources and research infrastructure. The aim of the study was to identify the top priorities for methodological research in LMICs to inform further research and ultimately to improve clinical trials in these regions. An online, two-round survey was conducted from December 2016 to April 2017 amongst researchers and methodologists working on trials in LMICs. The first round required participants to suggest between three and six topics which they felt were priorities for trial methodological research in LMICs. The second round invited participants to grade the importance of a compulsory list of topics suggested by four or more individuals, and an optional list of the remaining topics. Rounds 1 and 2 were completed by 412 and 314 participants, respectively. A wide spread of years of experience, discipline, current country of residence, origin of trials training and area of involvement in trials was reported. The topics deemed most important for methodological research were: choosing appropriate outcomes to measure and training of research staff. By presenting these top priorities we have the foundations of a global health trials methodological research agenda which we hope will foster future research in specific areas in order to increase and improve trials in LMICs.

Radiation Dose-Response for Risk of Myocardial Infarction in Breast Cancer Survivors

Abstract: Previous reports suggest that radiation therapy for breast cancer can cause ischemic heart disease, with radiationrelated risk increasing linearly with mean whole heart dose. This study aimed to validate these findings and assesses additional risk factors for radiation-related myocardial infarction in a case-control study nested within a cohort of BC survivors treated 70 years of age during 1970-2009. The study confirms a linear relationship between mean whole heart dose and myocardial infarction risk after radiation for breast cancer.