Biomedical subjects

A Vittoraki

Publications and source records attributed to A Vittoraki.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Tumour marker prescriptions for cancer screening in the Hellenic primary care.

Tumour markers are neither sensitive nor specific enough for cancer screening. Despite established guidelines, tumour marker 'screening myth' may be alive among physicians, but no study has analysed the phenomenon. This study aims to investigate tumour marker recommendation for screening purposes in primary care setting. A total of 209 Hellenic physicians were surveyed for screening activities by a multiple-choice questionnaire. Data were abstracted for the following tumour marker recommendations: carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA); cancer antigens 19.9, 125 and 15.3; alpha-fetoprotein and beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-HCG). A high rate of physicians advocate that tumour markers in cancer screening (range from 24% for beta-HCG to 46% for CEA). This phenomenon is not related to age, sex, type and level of physicians' specialization. In conclusion, many physicians recommend tumour markers for screening purposes. This may be harmful, since their prescriptions unnecessarily burden health economics, and further evaluation of false-positive findings might be associated with increased costs and risk from additional diagnostic/therapeutic interventions.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Chlamydia trachomatis: time for screening?

Genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection is the leading cause of bacterial sexually transmitted disease in industrialised countries, particularly among young people. The consequences of chlamydial infection may involve urethritis, cervicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, tubal factor infertility, epididymitis and prostatitis. In addition, chlamydial infection increases the risk of acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus and has been associated with cervical cancer. Although screening programmes exist in a number of countries, the continuously increasing prevalence of chlamydial infections demonstrates the necessity for health authorities to establish effective screening policies, and the importance of defining a comprehensive European screening policy is emerging.

Chlamydia Infections↗

PubMed2004

SESy-Europe: a multi-language database dedicated to cancer screening monitoring.

Cancer is the second cause of death in developed countries. Many efforts to educate the public to more tumor free life-style and screening practice have been therefore adopted. Considering the high costs of diagnostic procedures and educational programs a cancer prevention/screening practice monitoring system is required to reduce costs, to assist health making policy decisions, and to tailor more targeted interventions whenever indicated. We, therefore, realized a computerized data-base able to assist medical personnel in health intervention monitoring and making policy at community level with a focus on the European region. An international medical board provided the translation of medical-related contents in English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Rumanian, Spanish and Turkish. The electronic system recognizes and finds relationships between screening events or secondary prevention tests and various causes of medical examinations (symptoms, diseases, professions, presence and type of health insurance, sex, age, medical history, family history, educational level, knowledge about cancer screening and prevention, patient location, type of community, region of provenance, etc). Due to its multi-language standardized characteristics its application may bridge European countries in cancer screening monitoring policy.

Computers↗