Publications by authors named "Vuuren A"

Upper age limits are currently fixed for all fecal immunochemical test (FIT)-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programs. A risk-stratified upper age limit may be beneficial. Therefore, we assessed differences in interval CRC risk among individuals who had reached the upper age limit of screening (75 years).

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Background And Aims: This study aimed to provide evidence on the harm-to-benefit ratio of fecal immunochemical test (FIT)-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening by previous fecal hemoglobin (f-Hb) concentrations, as reflected in the number needed to screen (NNS) and number needed to scope (NNSc).

Methods: Participants in up to 4 FIT screening rounds of the Dutch CRC screening program were included. The main outcomes of this study were the NNS and NNSc to detect 1 CRC and/or advanced neoplasia (AN) in screening rounds 2, 3, or 4, conditional on previous f-Hb concentrations.

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Article Synopsis
  • High temperatures negatively impact the effectiveness of fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) for detecting colorectal cancer (CRC), especially at 50°C where hemoglobin concentration (Hb) drops significantly over time.
  • An experiment storing FIT samples at various temperatures revealed that samples at 30°C maintained stable Hb levels, while those at 50°C showed a rapid decrease in Hb concentration, indicating temperature plays a crucial role in test accuracy.
  • Despite 80% of participants returning samples the same day and finding the collection process easy, it's advised to keep FIT samples below 30°C to ensure effectiveness, particularly in warmer climates.
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  • Testicular cancer survivors (TCS) who received platinum-based chemotherapy are at a higher risk for developing colorectal cancer (CRC) compared to average-risk individuals.
  • A study involving TCS from four Dutch hospitals found that 8.7% of them had advanced neoplasia, significantly higher than the 1.7% found in matched controls.
  • The results indicate that TCS have a greater prevalence of colorectal neoplasia and advanced neoplasia, suggesting that colonoscopy screenings may be beneficial for this group; further cost-effectiveness studies are needed to determine the best screening practices.
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Background:  In the Dutch colorectal (CRC) screening program, fecal immunochemical test (FIT)-positive individuals are referred for colonoscopy. If no relevant findings are detected at colonoscopy, individuals are reinvited for FIT screening after 10 years. We aimed to assess CRC risk after a negative colonoscopy in FIT-positive individuals.

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Background: High participation rates are essential for a screening programme to be beneficial. To reach non-participants in a targeted manner, insight in characteristics of non-participants is needed. We investigated demographic differences between participants and non-participants in the Dutch faecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programme.

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Co-operatively breeding mammals often exhibit a female reproductive skew and suppression of the subordinate non-breeding group members. According to evolutionary theory and the immunity-fertility axis, an inverse relationship between reproductive investment and survival (through immunocompetence) is expected. As such, this study investigated if a trade-off between immunocompetence and reproduction arises in two co-operatively breeding African mole-rat species, namely the Damaraland mole-rat () and common mole-rat (), which possess female reproductive division of labour.

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Objective: To assess the impact of delayed invitation on screen-detected and interval colorectal cancers (CRC) within a faecal immunochemical testing (FIT)-based CRC screening programme.

Design: All individuals that participated in 2017 and 2018 with a negative FIT and were eligible for CRC screening in 2019 and 2020 were included using individual-level data. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association between either the different time periods (ie, '', '' and '' the first COVID-19 wave) or the invitation interval on screen-detected and interval CRCs.

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Background: In 2014, the national population-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening program was implemented in the Netherlands. Biennial fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) for hemoglobin (Hb) is used at a cut-off of 47 µg Hb per gram feces. The CRC screening program successfully started, with high participation rates and yield of screening.

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The suppression and excitation of Alfvén eigenmodes have been experimentally obtained, for the first time, by means of externally applied 3D perturbative fields with different spatial spectra in a tokamak plasma. The applied perturbation causes an internal fast-ion redistribution that modifies the phase-space gradients responsible for driving the modes, determining, ultimately their existence. Hybrid kinetic-magnetohydrodynamic simulations reveal an edge resonant transport layer activated by the 3D perturbative field as the responsible mechanism for the fast-ion redistribution.

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We employ the Covid-19 pandemic as an unanticipated event in order to investigate the willingness to pay for consumption amenities such as restaurants, cinemas and theaters. We use a hedonic pricing model in combination with a time-gradient difference-in-difference approach. Our data set contains virtually all apartments for sale in the larger Stockholm area.

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The interval colorectal cancer (CRC) rate after negative fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) is an important quality indicator of CRC screening programs. We analyzed the outcomes of two rounds of the FIT-based CRC screening program in the Netherlands, using data from individuals who participated in FIT-screening from 2014 to 2017. Data of individuals with one prior negative FIT (first round) or two prior negative FITs (first and second round) were included.

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Background And Aims: From 2014, the Dutch colorectal cancer (CRC) faecal immunochemical testing-based screening programme was gradually rolled out by birth cohort. We evaluated changes in advanced-stage CRC incidence by timing of invitation to further strengthen the evidence for the effectiveness of CRC screening.

Methods: Data on advanced-stage CRC incidence in the period 2010-2019 by invitation cohort were collected through the Netherlands Cancer Registry.

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BACKGROUND : Advanced serrated polyps (ASPs) have a comparable risk to advanced adenomas for progression to colorectal cancer (CRC). The yield of most CRC screening programs, however, is based on advanced adenomas and CRC only. We assessed the ASP detection rate, and positive predictive value (PPV) including ASPs in a fecal immunochemical test (FIT)-based screening program.

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Background: Emerging evidence suggests a pivotal role for B-cell responses in the natural history of chronic hepatitis B. Serum levels of antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) vary across infection stages, but their role in predicting response to antiviral therapy is uncertain.

Methods: Anti-HBc levels were assessed before peginterferon (PEG-IFN) therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B who either started de novo PEG-IFN (n = 299; 195 hepatitis B e antigen [HBeAg] positive) or started PEG-IFN as add-on to an existing nucleo(s)tide analogue backbone (n = 91; all HBeAg-positive).

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Objectives: To examine the prognostic potential of repeated faecal haemoglobin (F-Hb) concentration measurements in faecal immunochemical test (FIT)-based screening for colorectal cancer (CRC).

Design: Prognostic model.

Setting: Dutch biennial FIT-based screening programme during 2014-2018.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study looked at the Natal mole-rat, a type of animal that changes its body temperature with the seasons to avoid overheating and controls reproduction behaviorally.
  • Researchers measured oxidative stress in these mole-rats by looking at different substances in their bodies during summer and winter, and they found that males had more oxidative damage than females, especially in summer.
  • The findings show that the way these mole-rats breed and handle their body temperature affects how much stress their bodies experience, especially in relation to their environment.
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Cooperative behaviour, sociality and reproductive suppression in African mole-rats have been extensively studied. Nevertheless, endocrine correlates of some species of social mole-rats have been neglected, and these species may hold the key to understanding the behavioural and physiological complexity that allows the maintenance of social groups in African mole-rats. In this study, we investigated endocrine correlates implicated in the suppression of reproduction and cooperative behaviours, namely glucocorticoids (a stress-related indicator) through faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCMs), plasma testosterone (an indicator of aggression) and plasma prolactin in the Mahali mole-rat (Cryptomys hottentotus mahali) across reproductive classes (breeding females and males, non-breeding females and males) and season (wet and dry).

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  • Individuals with lower socioeconomic status (SES) showed significantly lower participation rates in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening compared to those with higher SES, suggesting an influence on health inequalities.
  • Analysis revealed that while the detection rate of advanced neoplasia was higher among those with lower SES, their overall participation led to similar diagnostic yields when compared to higher SES groups.
  • The study highlights a potential for screening to reduce health disparities in CRC mortality, but lower participation rates among lower SES groups currently counteract this benefit in the Dutch screening program.
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Background: In 2014, a population-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programme was stepwise implemented in the Netherlands comprising faecal immunochemical testing once every 2 years, with a cutoff value for positivity of 47 μg haemoglobin per g faeces. We aimed to assess CRC incidence, mortality, tumour characteristics, and treatment before and after introduction of this screening programme.

Methods: We did a retrospective, observational, population-based study in the Netherlands and gathered CRC incidence data from the Netherlands Cancer Registry from Jan 1, 2010, to Dec 31, 2019, in people aged 55 years or older.

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Background: Gastric and colorectal cancer (CRC) are both one of the most common cancers worldwide. In many countries fecal immunochemical tests (FIT)-based CRC screening has been implemented. We investigated if FIT can also be applied for detection of H.

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Burkholderia sp. Nafp2/4-1b (=SARCC-3049) is a plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) initially isolated from the rhizosphere of pristine grassland in South Africa, and its ability to enhance growth was previously evaluated on maize (Zea mays L.).

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Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea among infants and young children and is responsible for more than 200,000 pediatric deaths year. There is currently no pharmacological treatment for rotavirus infection in clinical activity. Although cholesterol synthesis has been proven to play a key role in the infections of multiple viruses, little is known about the relationship between cholesterol biosynthesis and rotavirus replication.

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Introduction And Hypothesis: Urinary incontinence affects women of all ages, influencing 8.5% of the world's population in 2018. Effective management of urinary incontinence is influenced by patients help-seeking behaviour and services offered by healthcare professionals within the healthcare system.

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Background And Aims: Interferon-alpha (IFN-α) treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus infection is finite and leads to relatively higher functional cure rates (HBsAg loss) than nucleo(s)tide analogue (NA) therapy. Effects of pegylated (PEG)/conventional IFN-α treatment on clinical outcomes were evaluated in an ultra-long-term follow-up of CHB patients.

Methods: HBeAg-positive patients treated with (PEG)IFN-α at a tertiary referral centre between 1977-2014 were included.

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