Publications by authors named "A M Gerrard"
Article Synopsis
- Lynch syndrome (LS) patients have a high risk of colorectal cancer, currently monitored through biennial colonoscopy, which can be burdensome and invasive.
- This study assessed whether faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) for faecal haemoglobin could effectively replace the need for routine colonoscopy in LS surveillance.
- Results showed FIT has low sensitivity for detecting adenomas, with no improvement when a second test was added, suggesting it may not be a viable alternative to colonoscopy.
Article Synopsis
- The study evaluated the non-return rate of faecal immunochemical tests among patients referred for high-risk colorectal cancer symptoms, finding that 11.9% of 7345 patients did not submit their tests.
- Non-returners tended to be younger, predominantly male, and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and they exhibited different clinical outcomes compared to those who returned the test.
- Despite a higher prevalence of colorectal cancer in those who underwent investigations, the overall cancer prevalence was similar between returners and non-returners over a median follow-up of 25 months, indicating potential issues in care access or follow-up for non-returners.
Article Synopsis
- Faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) is commonly used for detecting colorectal cancer (CRC) in screening programs, but the effectiveness of repeat tests to improve detection rates is still uncertain.
- A systematic review analyzed 68 studies on the efficacy of double FIT tests compared to single tests, focusing on different patient populations (asymptomatic, mixed, symptomatic).
- Results showed that using a second FIT test significantly increased the detection of CRC, with some studies noting a reduction in missed cases by at least 50%, and an estimated sensitivity of 94% for the double test in certain cohorts.
The Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) on both the Van Allen Probes spacecraft is a time-of-flight versus total energy instrument that provided ion composition data over the ring current energy (∼7 keV to ∼1 MeV), and electrons over the energy range ∼25 keV to ∼1 MeV throughout the duration of the mission (2012 - 2019). In this paper we present instrument calibrations, implemented after the Van Allen Probes mission was launched. In particular, we discuss updated rate dependent corrections, possible contamination by "accidentals" rates, and caveats concerning the use of certain products.
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