Publications by authors named "Jacqueline A Louwers"
Article Synopsis
- Researchers studied how genetic testing affects women with ovarian cancer and how it differs when done by regular doctors versus genetic specialists.
- They compared two groups of patients: one that got counseling from gynecology doctors and another from genetic experts, and gathered their thoughts through questionnaires.
- While participation was high, the knowledge about genetics and feelings of anxiety were similar in both groups, but the regular doctors discussed cancer risks less and patients felt more regret about their testing decisions.
Background: 15% of women treated for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN grade 2 or 3) develop residual or recurrent CIN grade 2 or 3 or cervical cancer, most of which are diagnosed within 2 years of treatment. To gain more insight into the long-term predictive value of different post-treatment strategies, we assessed the long-term cumulative risk of post-treatment CIN grade 2 or 3 or cancer and different follow-up algorithms to identify women at risk of residual or recurrent disease.
Methods: Women who were included in three studies in the Netherlands and who were treated for CIN grade 2 or 3 between July, 1988, and November, 2004, were followed up by cytology and testing for high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) at 6, 12, and 24 months after treatment, and subsequently received cytological screening every 5 years.
Given the lower specificity for high-grade cervical lesions of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing compared to cytology, additional triage testing for hrHPV test-positive women is needed to detect high-grade cervical lesions. Here, we tested whether combined methylation analysis for cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1) and T-lymphocyte maturation associated protein (MAL), both functionally involved in cervical carcinogenesis, could serve as such a triage marker. Four quantitative methylation-specific PCRs (qMSP), two for CADM1 (regions M12 and M18) and MAL (regions M1 and M2) each, were applied to 261 cervical tissue specimens ranging from no neoplasia to carcinoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis pooled analysis of data from four Phase III clinical trials was undertaken to assess the correlation between levels of anti-human papillomavirus (HPV)-16/18 antibodies in serum and cervicovaginal secretions (CVS) in girls and women vaccinated with the HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine. Serum and CVS samples were collected from a subset of women aged 10-65 years (N=350) at pre-specified time-points from 7 to 36 months post-vaccination. Anti-HPV-16/18 antibody levels in serum and CVS were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Because high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) is the necessary factor in the development of high-grade cervical lesions, knowing the colposcopic differences between hrHPV-positive and hrHPV-negative lesions could be of value. We have evaluated whether there are colposcopic differences between lesions testing hrHPV-positive or hrHPV-negative.
Materials And Methods: This study was conducted as a retrospective case-control study.