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Gerald Haidinger

Publications and source records attributed to Gerald Haidinger.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Survival of women with breast cancer in Austria by age, stage and period of diagnosis.

PURPOSE: To investigate survival of breast cancer patients by 1) age, 2) tumor stage and 3) period of diagnosis, also to determine the contribution of improvements in treatment and opportunistic mammography screening in Austria. METHODS: Survival was calculated overall and by 1) age groups (in years) < 50, 50-64, > 65; 2) stage I, II, IV, unknown 3) for 17,025 patients diagnosed 1988-92, compared with 19,284 patients diagnosed 1993-97. Odds ratios for being diagnosed as stage I in the period 1993-97 compared to 1988-92 were calculated by age group and for all ages. RESULTS: In the later period (1993-97) age-adjusted mortality rate decreased overall by 3.3% (age: < 50; 8.2%, 50-64; 5.1%, > 65; 1.6%). Overall, stage I cases increased from 46.5% to 51%. Five year relative survival rates improved significantly overall, 6.7% (p < 0.001), and within age groups (age: < 50; 4.5% (p < 0.05), 50-64; 7.2% (p < 0.05) and > 65; 7.3% (p < 0.001). This improvement is confined to patients with stage I tumors in age groups 50-64 (4.1%, p < 0.05) and > 65 (7.2%, p < 0.001) and to patients with stage II in age groups < 50 (7.7%, p < 0.01) and 50-64 (8.3%, p < 0.01). For patients younger than 50, in stage IV, diagnosed 1993-97, survival was significantly poorer (-16.9%, p < 0.05) compared to 1988-92. The odds ratio of being diagnosed as stage I in the later period was 1.19 (95% CI: 1.14, 1.24) for all ages, 1.13 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.24) and for women < 50, 1.3 (95% CI: 1.20, 1.40) 50-64 and 1.15 (95% CI: 1.09, 1.22) > 65 years old. CONCLUSION: We conclude that treatment improvements, which are accessible to all patients countrywide due to the compulsory state insurance system, had a major impact on positive trends in mortality and survival. Opportunistic screening should have contributed to some extent beginning in the early nineties.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism and prostate cancer risk.

BACKGROUND: 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the active form of vitamin D, exerts antiproliferative effect on prostatic cells, mediated through the vitamin D receptor. In a case-control study, we examined whether the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphism in exon 9 could affect prostate cancer susceptibility. METHODS: One hundred ninety newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients and 190 age-matched men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), in whom the presence of prostate cancer was excluded clinically or histologically, were recruited for this study. The VDR TaqI polymorphism was investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) following restriction fragment length polymorphism using DNA from lymphocytes. Depending on the presence or absence of the TaqI restriction site at the third position of codon 352, patients were classified as TT, Tt, or tt. RESULTS: The frequency of the tt genotype was not significantly different between prostate cancer patients (18%) and controls (12%; P = 0.07). The odds ratio (OR), calculated relative to individuals with the TT genotype was 1.76 (95% confidence limit (CL) = 0.90-3.45). After stratification for Gleason score and prostate specific antigen levels in a case-case comparison (n = 190), no significant associations with the VDR genotypes were detectable either. CONCLUSIONS: In this case-control study of Austrian Caucasians, no statistically significant association of the VDR TaqI polymorphism and prostate cancer risk was found.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Under-reporting of direct and indirect obstetrical deaths in Austria, 1980-98.

BACKGROUND: Under-reporting and misclassification of maternal deaths are common, even in countries with a high quality of death statistics. The aims of this study were to determine to what extent maternal deaths are under-reported in Austria and to determine factors that might explain under-reporting. METHODS: Confidential enquiries on maternal deaths for the period 1980-98 were linked with the official mortality statistics from Statistics Austria. Maternal deaths were classified as direct and indirect obstetric deaths. RESULTS: Between 1980 and 1998 a total of 119 maternal deaths (112 direct and seven indirect obstetric deaths) were registered at Statistics Austria. Confidential inquiries into maternal deaths accumulated 191 maternal deaths (an additional 43 direct obstetric deaths and 29 indirect obstetric deaths). Total under-reporting was 38% (95% CI 31-45). Significantly more indirect obstetrical deaths were under-reported (81%; 95% CI 64-92) than direct obstetrical deaths (28%; 95% CI 21-36). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the shortcomings of official registration of maternal deaths. Thus, maternal mortality cannot be seen as a reliable basis for health policy decisions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

The effect of the change in air temperature on the number of newborns in Vienna 1984-99.

The number of daily births depends on a wide range of sociodemographic, temporal as well as many other mostly unknown factors, resulting in non-random patterns. We tested the hypothesis of the influence of the change in air temperature on the daily number of all newborns in Vienna (n=254 797) in the period 1984-99 (n=5843 days). We found a significant association of sudden changes in temperature with the daily number of births. The observed effect is responsible for up to 0.27% of the explained variation in the regression model.

Austria↗
PubMed2002

Polymorphic CAG repeats in the androgen receptor gene, prostate-specific antigen polymorphism and prostate cancer risk.

As the development of prostate cancer is androgen-dependent, it has been hypothesized that variation in transcriptional activity by the androgen receptor (AR) related to polymorphic CAG repeats in exon 1, influences prostate cancer risk. The AR regulates gene transcription by binding to androgen-response elements (AREs) in target genes, such as the prostate-specific antigen (PSA). In the ARE-I sequence of the PSA gene an adenine to guanine polymorphism is described. It has been hypothesized that the AR binds the two PSA alleles (A and G) with differing affinities and may, thereby, differentially influence prostate cancer risk. To examine the role of the polymorphisms in the AR and PSA genes in prostate cancer susceptibility, we conducted a case-control study of Austrian Caucasians with 190 newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients and 190 age-matched control men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods using DNA from peripheral white blood cells. Logistic regressions were performed to calculate odds ratios (OR) and confidence limits (CL) and to control for possible confounders. Our data provide no evidence for an association between prostate cancer and CAG repeat length. However, we found a significant influence of the ARE-I PSA polymorphism on prostate cancer risk, when calculating the combination of the A/G and G/G genotypes relative to subjects with the A/A genotype (OR = 0.63; 95% CL 0.39-0.99; P = 0.048), suggesting that the G allele has a protective effect. In a case analysis according to Gleason score, the PSA G/G genotype was significantly more frequent in patients with Gleason score >7 (35.1%) than in patients with Gleason score <7 (21.5%), providing evidence that the PSA G/G genotype is associated with more advanced disease at time of diagnosis. However, the ambivalent role of the PSA during prostate carcinogenesis needs further investigation.

Aged↗