Publications by authors named "Force L"
Background: Non-malignant tumors of the CNS contribute substantially to the morbidity and mortality from CNS tumors. It is critical to understand the epidemiology of non-malignant CNS tumors separately from CNS malignancies to inform resource allocation and policy since treatment and prognosis can differ. High quality international data on non-malignant CNS tumor burden are needed to accomplish this goal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe World Health Organization (WHO) recently launched the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC), with the goal of attaining at least 60% cancer survival for children worldwide by the year 2030. This study aims to describe the global patterns of childhood cancer survival in 2019 to help guide progress in attaining the GICC target goal. In this ecological, cross-sectional study, we used 5-year net childhood cancer survival (2015-2019) data from a prior micro-modeling study from 197 countries and territories.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To evaluate the occurrence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and to assess mortality and health status in participants receiving remdesivir in real-world settings in Japan.
Methods: This postmarketing surveillance study used an all-case surveillance method for enrollment. Participants with SARS-CoV-2 infection administered remdesivir from July 2020 to November 2021 in Japan were eligible for inclusion.
Article Synopsis
- Previous studies linked cancer diagnoses with increased COVID-19 death risk, but many didn’t differentiate between long-term survivors and those recently diagnosed or treated, nor did they consider age factors.
- The research aimed to provide clearer evidence regarding the risk of COVID-19-related death in individuals with active or recent cancers during the pre-vaccination period, analyzing 39 studies that adjusted for age and gender.
- Results indicated that people with recent cancer diagnoses have a significantly higher risk of dying from COVID-19, especially for those with lung or hematological cancers, with the risk decreasing over time since treatment.
Article Synopsis
- Lip, oral, and pharyngeal cancers pose significant global health challenges, making it essential to analyze their burden for effective health policies.
- The study utilized data from the 2019 Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study to assess cancer incidence, mortality, and life years lost across 204 countries, linking these to socio-demographic factors.
- Findings revealed approximately 370,000 cases and 199,000 deaths for lip and oral cavity cancer, and 167,000 cases and 114,000 deaths for other pharyngeal cancers in 2019, with smoking being the leading risk factor for these cancers, especially in low and middle SDI regions.
Purpose: In this scoping review, we evaluated existing literature related to factors influencing treatment decision-making for patients diagnosed with cancer in low- and middle-income countries, noting factors that influence decisions to pursue treatment with curative versus non-curative intent. We identified an existing framework for adult cancer developed in a high-income country (HIC) context and described similar and novel factors relevant to low-and middle-income country settings.
Methods: We used scoping review methodology to identify and synthesize existing literature on factors influencing decision-making for pediatric and adult cancer in these settings.
Background: Approximately 90% of children with cancer live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), where 5-year survival is lower than 20%. Treatment-related mortality in high-income countries is approximately 3-5%; however, in LMICs, treatment-related mortality has been reported in up to 45% of children with cancer. This study aimed to systematically explore the burden of treatment-related mortality in children with cancer in LMICs and to explore the association between country income level and treatment-related mortality.
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- * Between 2009 and 2016, global HSCT use for AML rose significantly, particularly in resource-limited regions, with an overall 54.9% increase, although access remains heavily skewed towards high-resource areas.
- * Utilization rates vary widely by region, with younger patients (<70 years) experiencing even more disparities; AMR-N showed the highest rates of HSCT, while AFR/EMR and AMR-S lagged far behind.
Objectives Real-world evidence on the safety and effectiveness of direct-acting antivirals in patients infected with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes (GTs) 3, 4, 5, or 6 in Japan is limited. This prospective observational study assesses the real-world safety profile and treatment effectiveness among patients prescribed sofosbuvir with ribavirin (SOF+RBV) for HCV GT3-6 infection in Japan. Methods Adults receiving 24-week SOF+RBV treatment for HCV GT3-6 infection were prospectively enrolled and observed through 24 weeks post-treatment for treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) considered related to SOF and/or RBV by treating physicians and for a sustained virologic response at 12 and 24 weeks post-treatment (SVR12, SVR24).
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- A study investigated the effectiveness and durability of dual antiretroviral therapy (DAT) in HIV patients in real clinical settings, comparing it to traditional triple-drug regimens.
- Of the 51 patients followed for 48 weeks, 83.8% of those with low viral load and 50% with higher viral load achieved virological suppression, with 76.5% maintaining treatment for an average of about 40 weeks.
- Results showed better adherence and a higher cost for DAT compared to previous regimens, suggesting DAT could be a viable option for patients not responding to triple therapies.
Background: Sofosbuvir, a prodrug nucleoside inhibitor of hepatitis C virus, has a predominant circulating metabolite that is renally eliminated. Whether sofosbuvir is associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression is not well understood.
Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 30-89 mL/min/1.
Article Synopsis
- * Out of 1,325 participants, 28.6% tested positive for HCV antibodies, while only 2.2% had active HCV infections, showing a dramatic decline in rates from previous years due to increased treatment uptake.
- * Despite the heightened use of direct-acting antiviral agents leading to lower infection rates, a notable prevalence of HCV-related cirrhosis still existed, affecting 5.4% of the population studied.
Background And Objective: Colonoscopy is a common procedure performed by colorectal surgeons for screening, diagnosis, and surveillance of various colorectal diseases. Existing literature has conflicting data on quality outcomes of colonoscopies performed in the afternoon and the morning schedules and only includes colonoscopies performed by gastroenterologists. We sought to analyze procedural outcomes between morning and afternoon colonoscopies performed by colorectal surgeons.
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- The GBD 2019 study systematically estimated the global cancer burden, providing data on incidence, mortality, and disability to help address cancer worldwide.
- In 2019, an estimated 23.6 million new cancer cases and 10 million cancer deaths occurred globally, marking significant increases in rates since 2010, with cancer becoming a leading cause of both death and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).
- The impact of cancer varied across sociodemographic index (SDI) quintiles, with higher SDI areas seeing more new cases, while middle SDI areas experienced more deaths and DALYs, highlighting disparities in cancer burden.
Background: Factors affecting outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in people living with HIV are unclear. We assessed the factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis and severe outcomes among people living with HIV.
Methods: We did a retrospective cohort study using data from the PISCIS cohort of people with HIV in Catalonia (Spain) between March 1 and Dec 15, 2020.
Background: Despite remarkable achievements in antiretroviral therapy (ART), losses to follow-up (LTFU) might prevent the long-term success of HIV treatment and might delay the achievement of the 90-90-90 objectives. This scoping review is aimed at the description and analysis of the strategies used in high-income countries to reengage LTFU in HIV care, their implementation and impact.
Methods: A scoping review was done following Arksey & O'Malley's methodological framework and recommendations from Joanna Briggs Institute.
BackgroundRecent and reliable estimates on the prevalence of coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Europe are lacking.AimLeveraged on a study designed to assess HIV/HCV coinfection prevalence, we assessed the prevalence of HIV/HBV coinfection in Spain in 2018 and compared the results with five similar studies performed since 2002.MethodsThis cross-sectional prevalence study was carried out in 43 centres, and patients were selected using simple random sampling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobal effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cancer care: a cross-sectional study.
Lancet Child Adolesc Health
May 2021
Background: Although mortality due to COVID-19 has been reportedly low among children with cancer, changes in health-care services due to the pandemic have affected cancer care delivery. This study aimed to assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood cancer care worldwide.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was distributed to paediatric oncology providers worldwide from June 22 to Aug 21, 2020, through the St Jude Global Alliance and International Society for Paediatric Oncology listservs and regional networks.
We monitored the burden of cancer in Italy and its trends over the last three decades, providing estimates of cancer incidence, mortality, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), for cancer overall and 30 cancer sites using data from the Global Burden of Disease study 2017. An overview of mortality trends between 1990 and 2017 was also provided. In 2017, there were 254,336 new cancer cases in men and 214,994 in women, corresponding to an age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of 438 and 330/100,000, respectively.
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- * Researchers applied a new testing protocol to analyze samples from 220 patients across various Spanish hospitals, finding that 88.6% had at least one RAS, with specific patterns linked to different HCV subtypes.
- * The findings reveal that certain patients had RAS not affected by the drugs they received, indicating the necessity for thorough RAS testing, especially since ribavirin treatment did not impact RAS diversity or type.