Comparing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of text-message reminders and telephone patient navigation to improve the uptake of faecal immunochemical test screening among non-responders in London: a randomised controlled trial protocol.

Introduction: Participation in bowel cancer screening is lower in regions where there is high ethnic diversity and/or socioeconomic deprivation. Interventions, such as text message reminders and patient navigation (PN), have the potential to increase participation in these areas. As such, there is interest in the comparative effectiveness of these interventions to increase bowel cancer screening participation, as well as their relative cost-effectiveness.

Including a general practice endorsement letter with the testing kit in the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme: Results of a cluster randomised trial.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of general practitioner endorsement accompanying the screening kit rather than with the invitation letter on participation in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme and on the socioeconomic gradient in participation in the Programme.

Methods: The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in England is delivered via five regional hubs. In early 2016, we carried out a cluster-randomised trial, with hub-day of invitation as the randomisation unit.

Faecal immunochemical tests for haemoglobin: Analytical challenges and potential solutions.

Quantitative faecal immunochemical tests for haemoglobin (FIT) are being used increasingly around the world in colorectal cancer screening programmes, and in patients presenting with lower bowel symptoms to determine who should proceed to further bowel visualisation investigations, usually colonoscopy. The clinical utility of FIT is well reported. There are a number of analytical challenges including pre-analytical variation, difficulty setting up external quality assessment schemes, access to third party internal quality control material and a lack of standardisation or harmonisation of FIT methods.

Choice of faecal immunochemical test matters: comparison of OC-Sensor and HM-JACKarc, in the assessment of patients at high risk of colorectal cancer.

Objectives: Currently, NICE recommends the use of faecal immunochemical test (FIT) at faecal haemoglobin concentrations (f-Hb) of 10 μg Hb/g faeces to stratify for colorectal cancer (CRC) risk in symptomatic populations. This f-Hb cut-off is advised across all analysers, despite the fact that a direct comparison of analyser performance, in a clinical setting, has not been performed.

Methods: Two specimen collection devices (OC-Sensor, OC-S; HM-JACKarc, HM-J) were sent to 914 consecutive individuals referred for follow up due to their increased risk of CRC.

An assessment of the effect of haemoglobin variants on detection by faecal immunochemical tests.

Background Faecal immunochemical tests (FIT) for haemoglobin (Hb) are being used in the investigation of colorectal cancer. These tests use antibodies raised to the globin moiety of human Hb. Where the globin structure is abnormal or reduced, it is possible that antibody binding, and thus Hb-detection may be affected.

Text-message Reminders in Colorectal Cancer Screening (TRICCS): a randomised controlled trial.

Background: We investigated the effectiveness of a text-message reminder to improve uptake of the English Bowel Cancer Screening programme in London.

Methods: We performed a randomised controlled trial across 141 general practices in London. Eight thousand two hundred sixty-nine screening-eligible adults (aged 60-74 years) were randomised in a 1 : 1 ratio to receive either a text-message reminder (n=4134) or no text-message reminder (n=4135) if they had not returned their faecal occult blood test kit within 8 weeks of initial invitation.

Patient factors associated with non-attendance at colonoscopy after a positive screening faecal occult blood test.

Background Screening participants with abnormal faecal occult blood test results who do not attend further testing are at high risk of colorectal cancer, yet little is known about their reasons for non-attendance. Methods We conducted a medical record review of 170 patients from two English Bowel Cancer Screening Programme centres who had abnormal guaiac faecal occult blood test screening tests between November 2011 and April 2013 but did not undergo colonoscopy. Using information from patient records, we coded and categorized reasons for non-attendance.

Text Reminders in Colorectal Cancer Screening (TRICCS): Protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Screening with the guaiac faecal occult blood test (gFOBt) is associated with improved colorectal cancer (CRC) survival, and is offered biennially to men and women aged 60-74 years in England's national Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP). Uptake of the gFOBt is low, with only 54 % of the eligible population completing the test. Text-message reminders could improve uptake of gFOBt.

Evidence for dimer formation by an amphiphilic heptapeptide that mediates chloride and carboxyfluorescein release from liposomes.

Heptapeptides having dioctadecyl, N-terminal hydrocarbon chains insert in phospholipid bilayer membranes and form pores through which at least chloride ions pass. Although amphiphilic, these compounds do not typically form vesicles themselves. They insert in the bilayers of phospholipid vesicles and mediate the release of carboxyfluorescein.

The C- and N-Terminal Residues of Synthetic Heptapeptide Ion Channels Influence Transport Efficacy Through Phospholipid Bilayers.

The synthetic peptide, R(2)N-COCH(2)OCH(2)CO-Gly-Gly-Gly-Pro-Gly-Gly-Gly-OR', was shown to be selective for Cl(-) over K(+) when R is n-octadecyl and R' is benzyl. Nineteen heptapeptides have now been prepared in which the N-terminal and C-terminal residues have been varied. All of the N-terminal residues are dialkyl but the C-terminal chains are esters, 2 degrees amides, or 3 degrees amides.

Anion Transport in Liposomes Responds to Variations in the Anchor Chains and the Fourth Amino Acid of Heptapeptide Ion Channels.

Seven heptapeptide derivatives have been prepared. The peptide structure is (Gly)(3)Xxx(Gly)(3) in which Xxx stands for a variable amino acid. The amino acid variations include azetidine carboxylic acid, pipecolic acid, meta-aminobenzoic acid, proline, and leucine.

Pore formation in and enlargement of phospholipid liposomes by synthetic models of ceramides and sphingomyelin.

A family of compounds having twin octadecyl anchor chains and various polar headgroups were designed to be ceramide mimics. The compounds prepared increase the apparent permeability of phospholipid vesicles to chloride and carboxyfluorescein anions. In addition, significantly larger vesicles are observed after exposure to these compounds suggesting the possibility of vesicular fusion.

The C-terminal ester of membrane anchored peptide ion channels affects anion transport.

Five heptapeptide derivatives, [CH3(CH2)17]2NCOCH2OCH2CO-Gly-Gly-Gly-Pro-Gly-Gly-Gly-OR, in which R = ethyl, 2-propyl, heptyl, benzyl, and cyclohexylmethyl, were found to transport chloride anion through a phospholipid bilayer to varying extents dependent on the identity of R. It was concluded that the R group is a membrane anchor for the synthetic chloride channels.

Anchor chain length alters the apparent mechanism of chloride channel function in SCMTR derivatives.

Two membrane-anchored heptapeptides have been prepared and their pore-formation behavior in phospholipid bilayer membranes has been found to differ profoundly as a result only of alkyl chain length.