Hazard Ratios and Alternative Effect Measures: An Applied Illustration.

Purpose: Although the limitations of hazard ratios (HRs) for quantifying treatment effects in right-censored data have been widely discussed, HRs are still preferentially reported over other, more interpretable effect measures. This may stem from the fact that there are few applied examples that directly contrast the HR and its interpretation with alternative effect measures.

Methods: We analyzed data from two randomized clinical trials comparing panitumumab plus standard-of-care chemotherapy (SOCC) with SOCC alone as first- and second-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer.

Use of sensitivity analyses to assess uncontrolled confounding from unmeasured variables in observational, active comparator pharmacoepidemiologic studies: a systematic review.

Understanding the potential for, and direction and magnitude of uncontrolled confounding is critical for generating informative real-world evidence. Many sensitivity analyses are available to assess robustness of study results to residual confounding, but it is unclear how researchers are using these methods. We conducted a systematic review of published active-comparator cohort studies of drugs or biologics to summarize use of sensitivity analyses aimed at assessing uncontrolled confounding from an unmeasured variable.

Development and Evaluation of a Multisource Approach to Extend Mortality Follow-Up for Older Adults With Advanced Cancer Enrolled in Randomized Trials.

Purpose: Mortality data can complement primary end points from cancer clinical trials. Yet, identifying deaths after trial completion is challenging, as timely and comprehensive vital status data are unavailable in the United States. We developed and evaluated a multisource approach to capture death data after clinical trial completion.

Regarding "Neoadjuvant Versus Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Resectable Metastatic Colon Cancer in Non-academic and Academic Programs".

This letter to the editor expresses concerns related to immortal time bias that may partially account for recently published study results.

Nondifferential Treatment Misclassification Biases Toward the Null? Not a Safe Bet for Active Comparator Studies.

Active comparator studies are increasingly common, particularly in pharmacoepidemiology. In such studies, the parameter of interest is a contrast (difference or ratio) in the outcome risks between the treatment of interest and the selected active comparator. While it may appear treatment is dichotomous, treatment is actually polytomous as there are at least 3 levels: no treatment, the treatment of interest, and the active comparator.

Delays in breast cancer care by race and sexual orientation: Results from a national survey with diverse women in the United States.

Background: Despite known differences in breast cancer by both race and sexual orientation, data on the intersectional experiences of Black sexual minority women (BSMW) along the care continuum are scant. This study sought to understand delays in breast cancer care by examining the intersection of race and sexual orientation.

Methods: This online, cross-sectional survey enrolled racially and sexually diverse women aged ≥ 35 years who had been diagnosed with breast cancer within the prior 10 years or had an abnormal screening in the prior 24 months.

Surveillance for Guillain-Barré syndrome after 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 influenza vaccination of Medicare beneficiaries.

Background: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a serious acute demyelinating disease, an increased risk of which was found after the 1976 swine flu vaccinations. The U.S.

Metformin Ameliorates Periapical Lesions through Suppression of Hypoxia-induced Apoptosis of Osteoblasts.

Introduction: Intramuscular injection of metformin has been shown to inhibit the progression of periapical lesions in rats by decreasing the number of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κβ ligand- and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of metformin on hypoxia-induced apoptosis of osteoblasts and the therapeutic activity of intracanal metformin in induced periapical lesions in rats.

Methods: The influence of metformin on hypoxia-induced mitochondrial superoxide production in human osteoblasts was examined by using MitoSOX (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) fluorescence dye signaling.

Evaluating a Cobalt-Tetraphenylporphyrin Complex, Functionalized with a Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite, for Improved Tooth Whitening.

Objectives: To study using cobalt-tetraphenylporphyrin/reduced graphene oxide (CoTPP/RGO), a nanocomposite highly catalytic both for oxidizing and for reducing hydrogen peroxide (H O ), to whiten teeth.

Methods: Dyes (D&C Red 34, Orange No. 4), tea, and betel nuts (Areca catechu) were used to stain the tooth specimens for three days and subsequently bleached using H O alone, H O plus CoTPP, or H O plus CoTPP/RGO for 0.

Photocatalytic reduction of NO pollutant using an optical-fibre photoreactor at room temperature.

Photo-assisted catalytic reduction of nitric oxide (NO) was studied over different metal-loaded TiO2 catalysts at room temperature. The activities of metal-loaded (Pt, Ag, Cu) TiO2 photocatalysts, prepared by the sol-gel method, were compared in a batch system using CH4 as the reducing agent. The Pt/TiO2 catalyst showed the highest activity for NO reduction.