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Using inverse-weighting in cost-effectiveness analysis with censored data.

Due to induced dependent censoring, estimating mean costs and quality-adjusted survival in a cost-effectiveness analysis using standard life-table methods leads to biased results. In this paper we propose methods for estimating the difference in mean costs and the difference in effectiveness, together with their respective variances and covariance in the presence of dependent censoring. We consider the situation in which the measure of effectiveness is either the probability of patients surviving a duration of interest, mean survival time over a duration of interest or mean quality-adjusted survival time over a duration of interest. The method of inverse-weighting is used for censored cost and quality of life data. The methods are illustrated in an example using an incremental net benefit analysis.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗

[Analysis of therapeutic effectiveness of Nanfang ALL 99 protocol in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients].

OBJECTIVE: With more precise diagnostic criteria and risk classifications, more effective therapy administered in clinical trials, and better supportive care, the outcome of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been improved dramatically. Today, approximately 80% of children treated for this disease in developed countries enjoy long-term event free survival (EFS) and in most instances, would be cured. In this study, treatment outcome of 82 childhood ALL patients in the hospital were analyzed, and ways for how to improve the EFS rate in childhood ALL were explored. METHODS: Eighty-two patients with ALL were enrolled into the Nanfang ALL 99 protocol which derived from German BFM ALL 95 and Hong Kong-Singapore acute lymphoblastic leukemia 97 (HK-SG ALL 97). Dexamethasone instead of hydrocortisone was used for triple intrathecal therapy. Standard at risk patients who had been irregularly treated in other hospitals for short periods of time were classified as at intermediate risk. When ANC was > or = 1.0 x 10(9)/L and platelet > or = 100 x 10(9)/L, chemotherapy was started. Life table method was used to estimate survival rate and statistical analysis was done by using software SPSS for Windows. RESULTS: From March 1999 to September 2003, 82 childhood ALL patients were treated with the Nanfang ALL 99 protocol and 78 (95.1%) patients attained complete remission (CR) in a median time of 33 days. Out of 82 patients, 13 patients dropped out of the the Nanfang ALL 99 protocol because of financial difficulty or other reasons. Sixty nine patients were consecutively treated with the Nanfang ALL 99 protocol. The overall EFS rate at 2 years, 3 years and 5 years were 91.3%, 85.9% and 75.2%, respectively, with a median observation duration of 34 months. Three patients died of complications (4.3%). The disease relapsed in 6 patients and they died finally. CONCLUSION: The outcome of patients treated with the Nanfang ALL 99 protocol was favorable, and the mortality rate of this chemotherapeutic protocol was low. This protocol was well tolerated by Chinese patients and therefore the protocol is worthy of application in China.

Adolescent↗

The effect of age on prostate implantation results.

PURPOSE: The current study was undertaken to determine the effect of young age (60 years or younger) on the 5-year biochemical disease-free survival rate following ultrasound-guided transperineal prostate implantation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The radiation therapy charts of 330 patients who underwent ultrasound-guided transperineal prostate implantation who were treated from 1992 through 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Follow-up ranged from 12 to 120 months, with a mean of 48 months. A total of 63 patients were 60 years of age or younger, and 267 patients were over 60 years of age. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence was defined as three successive increases following ultrasound-guided transperineal prostate implantation. Biochemical disease-free survival was determined using the life-table method. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in the 5-year biochemical disease-free survival rates for the younger versus the older group. On univariate analysis, age was not a statistically significant factor in predicting PSA failure. Univariate analysis revealed that Gleason score, PSA at diagnosis, and clinical T stage were significant in predicting for PSA failure. Patients with Gleason score<7, PSA<10, and clinical stage T1c disease had statistically significant lower PSA failure rates than patients with Gleason score>or=7, PSA>or=10, and clinical stage T2 disease, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who are 60 years of age or younger who are treated with ultrasound-guided transperineal prostate implantation can expect 5-year biochemical disease-free survival rates similar to those of older patients treated with ultrasound-guided transperineal prostate implantation therapy.

Adult↗

Failure patterns and hazard rates for failure suggest the cure of prostate cancer by external beam radiation.

OBJECTIVES: To present patterns of failure and hazard rates for failure that support the concept of cure for patients with prostate cancer treated with external beam radiation (RT). METHODS: Two patient groups are reported: 408 patients treated with RT alone and 63 patients treated with RT and short-term androgen deprivation (RT+AD). All patients were treated between March 1987 and March 1995 and had at least 4 years of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) follow-up. The median follow-up was 69 months for the RT alone group and 60 months for the RT+AD group. For each treatment group, biochemical control and hazard functions were estimated using the ASTRO consensus definition of failure and the life table method. RESULTS: The 5 and 8-year biochemical control estimates were 60% and 59% for the RT alone group, respectively, with only two failures occurring after 5 years (1% of the total failures observed). Hazard function estimates indicated a maximum risk of failure at 12 to 36 months, tapering to a low rate at 4 years, with no failures observed after 6 years. The differences in the patterns of failure by PSA level revealed a maximum risk of failure at 12 to 24 months (median 28) for a pretreatment PSA level of less than 10 ng/mL, 12 to 36 months (median 25) for a pretreatment PSA level of 10 to 19.9 ng/mL, and 12 to 36 months (median 22) for a pretreatment PSA level of 20 ng/mL or greater. The latter group reached low levels of risk at 6 years in contrast to 4 years for the patients presenting with pretreatment PSA levels of less than 20 ng/mL. Similar patterns were observed when stratifying by stage and Gleason score: patients with a worse prognosis had the highest risk of failure earlier and achieved a low risk of failure later than patients with a more favorable prognosis. The patients in the RT+AD group had a different pattern of risk of failure, with the highest risk immediately after treatment, declining to a low risk of failure at 48 months. CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated with RT alone or RT+AD had little risk of failure after 4 to 6 years. Patients with a favorable prognosis achieved a low risk of failure sooner than high-risk patients when treated with RT alone. These results are consistent with the cure of prostate cancer by RT alone or RT+AD.

Aged↗

Preirradiation PSA predicts biochemical disease-free survival in patients treated with postprostatectomy external beam irradiation.

PURPOSE: To assess the clinical outcome and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response and to determine prognostic factors for biochemical disease-free survival in patients treated with external beam radiotherapy following radical prostatectomy without hormonal therapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Forty-eight patients were treated after prostatectomy with radiotherapy between March, 1988 and December, 1993. Seven patients had undetectable PSA (<0.2) and the remainder had detectable PSA at the time of irradiation (overall: median 2.7, range 0-24.9). Nine patients had biopsy proven local recurrence, palpable local disease, or positive preirradiation imaging. No patients received hormonal therapy prior to irradiation. Median follow-up was 55 months. A median dose of 60 Gy (range 58-66) was given to the prostate bed. Survival was analyzed using the life-table method. Actuarial biochemical disease-free survival was the primary endpoint studied. RESULTS: In patients with detectable PSA, 51% had levels return to undetectable after irradiation. The actuarial 5-year freedom from biochemical failure for all patients was 24%. A significant difference in biochemical disease-free survival was seen for patients irradiated with preirradiation PSA that was undetectable (p < 0.001), or preirradiation PSA that was < or =2.7 (p = 0.002), vs. preirradiation PSA that was >2.7. Five-year actuarial biochemical disease-free survival values were 71, 48, and 0%, respectively, for the three groups. Biochemical disease-free survival was not affected by preoperative PSA level, clinical stage, Gleason's score, pathologic stage, surgical margins, presence of undetectable PSA after surgery, surgery to radiation interval, total dose, or presence of clinically suspicious local disease. Based on digital rectal exam, there were no local failures. CONCLUSION: Biochemical disease-free survival after postprostatectomy radiation is predicted by the PSA at the time of irradiation. Clinical local control is excellent, but distant failure remains a significant problem in this population. The addition of concomitant systemic therapy should be investigated in patients with PSA >2.7.

Adenocarcinoma↗

A population-based study of the use and outcome of radical radiotherapy for invasive bladder cancer.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to describe the use and outcome of radical radiotherapy for bladder cancer in the province of Ontario, Canada, between 1982 and 1994. METHODS: Electronic records of invasive bladder cancer (ICD code 188) from the Ontario Cancer Registry were linked to surgical records from all Ontario hospitals and radiotherapy (RT) records from all Ontario cancer centers. We identified cases receiving radical RT by selecting RT records containing "bladder" or "pelvis" anatomic region codes and a radical or curative intent code (or dose >39.5 Gy if intent missing). We identified cases receiving salvage total cystectomy by selecting total cystectomy procedure codes occurring at any time beyond 4 months from the start of radical RT. We used life table methods to compute the following: the time from diagnosis to radical RT, the time from radical RT to salvage cystectomy, overall and cause-specific survival from radical radiotherapy to death, and overall and cause-specific survival from salvage cystectomy to death. We modeled the factors associated with time to death, time to cystectomy conditional on survival, and time to cystectomy or death, whichever came first, using Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS: From the 20,906 new cases of bladder cancer diagnosed in Ontario from 1982 to 1994, we identified 1,372 cases treated by radical radiotherapy (78% male, 22% female; mean age 69.8 years). The median interval to start of radical RT from diagnosis was 13.4 weeks. Ninety-three percent of patients were treated on high-energy linacs, and the most common dose/fractionation scheme was 60 Gy/30 (31% of cases). Five-year survival rates were as follows: bladder cancer cause-specific, 41%; overall, 28%; cystectomy-free, 25%; bladder cancer cause-specific following salvage cystectomy, 36%; overall following salvage cystectomy, 28%. Factors associated with a higher risk of death and a poorer cystectomy-free survival were histology (squamous or nonpapillary transitional cell carcinoma [TCC]) and advanced age. CONCLUSION: This population-based study confirms previous institutional studies and clinical trials and shows that radical RT has a curative role in the management of invasive bladder cancer and allows about one-quarter of patients receiving radiotherapy to survive 5 years while retaining the bladder. Salvage cystectomy following RT provides a chance of cure at the time of bladder relapse.

Adolescent↗

A community study of ocular herpes simplex.

A recent epidemiologic study of ocular herpes simplex in 151 patients over a 33 year old period in Rochester, Minnesota has challenged some of the clinical and epidemiologic tenets about the disease. The incidence rate for new and recurrent cases and the prevalence rate was calculated and projected to the white U.S. population. The recurrence rate assessed by life table methods were determined for up to 20 years after the first episode and these rates rose following repeated episodes. Previous studies in the same community allow comparison of the incidence rates with other herpetic diseases. This community based study more accurately defines many of the features of the disease such as the prevalence among the sexes, the increasing age at presentation, the frequency of bilateral disease, the relationship of the initial disease to the future recurrence patterns, the frequency of lid, epithelial, stromal, and uveitis in an unselected community population, and the final visual outcome. This data estimates more accurately the morbidity and social impact of the condition.

Adult↗

Recurrence rates of primary basal cell carcinoma in facial risk areas treated with curettage and electrodesiccation.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is increasing. Curettage and electrodesiccation (CE) are not recommended for BCC treatment at medium- and high-risk facial sites. Surgical excision has been proposed as the treatment of choice. OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the cumulative recurrence rate (RR) of primary BCC in facial areas of medium and high risk after CE. METHODS: This nonrandomized, clinical trial enrolled 257 patients with primary BCC located in medium- and high-risk facial areas, and treated with 4 or 5 cycles of CE by a single operator from a section specializing in BCC CE in a tertiary teaching hospital in Oviedo, Spain. Exclusion criteria for study entry included: recurrent BCC, fibrosing BCC, ill-defined BCC, and BCC larger than 10 mm in diameter (high-risk facial sites) or larger than 15 mm in diameter (medium-risk sites); BCC smaller than 4 mm; and nonbiopsy-proven BCC. BCCs included in the study were from the nose, and paranasal and nasal-labial fold (n = 105); eyelids and canthi (n = 48); perioral areas (n = 12); ears (n = 11); forehead and temples (n = 48); periauricular areas (n = 14); and malar areas and cheeks (n = 19). The primary outcome was recurrence of carcinoma, which was clinically evaluated by at least two observers in consensus. Data were analyzed using both a life table method and Kaplan-Meier analysis. The statistical analysis included best- and worst-case scenarios (which means that all cases lost to follow-up were considered as recurrences). RESULTS: The 5-year cumulative non-RR in the best-case scenario was 98.80% (SE 0.70, 95% confidence interval 97.40%-100%); thus, a 5-year cumulative RR of 1.20% was found after CE in our medium- and high-risk BCCs of the face (best case). The 5-year cumulative non-RR in the worst-case scenario was 79.40% (95% confidence interval 78.90%-79.90%); thus, a 5-year cumulative RR of 20.60%. LIMITATIONS: Retrospective design with a relatively small number of patients lost to follow-up is a study limitation. CONCLUSION: High 5-year cure rates can be obtained after CE of primary, nonfibrosing BCCs of medium- and high-risk areas of the face performed in a specialized section.

Adult↗

False aneurysms after prosthetic reconstructions for aortoiliac obstructive disease.

Several aspects of false aneurysm development after prosthetic resconstruction for aortoiliac obstructive disease were studied. For this purpose the long-term results (up to 20 years of follow-up) of 518 patients with implanted arterial prostheses in the aortoiliofemoral tract were retrospectively evaluated. Completeness of follow-up data was 83.2% 15 years after operation. A total of 101 false aneurysms (21 aortic, 53 iliac, and 27 femoral) were detected in 69 patients and verified by operation. The incidence per patient was 69 of 518 patients (13.3%). The incidences per anastomosis were: aortic, 21 of 438 anastomoses (4.8%); iliac, 53 of 835 anastomoses (6.3%); and femoral, 27 of 198 anastomoses (13.6%). Almost one half (47.5%) of all the false aneurysms were asymptomatic and were detected by angiography or ultrasonography. Chances for late survivors to develop a false aneurysm during follow-up were calculated by the life-table method. The chance to be free of a false aneurysm at any site was 77.2% 15 years after operation. These chances were 92.3%, 84.5%, and 76.2% for aortic, iliac, and femoral anastomoses, respectively. Analyses of subgroups showed that the development of a false aneurysm was significantly correlated with the presence of hypertension, multilevel disease, the type of suture material, and the type of anastomosis. These results indicate unexpectedly high chances for the development of false aneurysms in long-term survivors after aortoiliac or aortofemoral prosthetic reconstructions. We advocate the use of a life-long follow-up schedule with periodic angiography and ultrasonography for these patients.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗

A report of 28 cases of 3-year follow-up after liver transplantation for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: To investigate the therapeutic value of liver transplantation for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with advanced HCC were treated by liver transplantation from August 2000 to October 2003 at Peking University Third hospital. All the patients were followed up to evaluate the result. RESULTS: The longest follow-up duration was 3 years and 3 mo. Till the end of the follow-up period, 17 patients had already died and 11 were alive. Of those who died, 10 patients died of tumor recurrence, 4 died during the perioperative period, 2 died of variceal bleeding, and 1 died of biliary complication. According to life table method, the 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were 87.5%, 52.5%,and 42.9%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Liver transplantation provides a new treatment under the circumstance of lacking of an effective treatment for advanced HCC at present. Some patients can survive for a relatively long time free of tumor. In our country, if the patients can afford liver transplantation, advanced HCC without extrahepatic metastasis is an indication for liver transplantation at present.

Adult↗

A comparison of suture repair with mesh repair for incisional hernia.

BACKGROUND: Incisional hernia is an important complication of abdominal surgery. Procedures for the repair of these hernias with sutures and with mesh have been reported, but there is no consensus about which type of procedure is best. METHODS: Between March 1992 and February 1998, we performed a multicenter trial in which we randomly assigned to suture repair or mesh repair 200 patients who were scheduled to undergo repair of a primary hernia or a first recurrence of hernia at the site of a vertical midline incision of the abdomen of less than 6 cm in length or width. The patients were followed up by physical examination at 1, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months. Recurrence rates and potential risk factors for recurrent incisional hernia were analyzed with the use of life-table methods. RESULTS: Among the 154 patients with primary hernias and the 27 patients with first-time recurrent hernias who were eligible for the study, 56 had recurrences during the follow-up period. The three-year cumulative rates of recurrence among patients who had suture repair and those who had mesh repair were 43 percent and 24 percent, respectively, with repair of a primary hernia (P=0.02; difference, 19 percentage points; 95 percent confidence interval, 3 to 35 percentage points). The recurrence rates were 58 percent and 20 percent with repair of a first recurrence of hernia (P=0.10; difference, 38 percentage points; 95 percent confidence interval, -1 to 78 percentage points). The risk factors for recurrence were suture repair, infection, prostatism (in men), and previous surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm. The size of the hernia did not affect the rate of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with midline abdominal incisional hernias, mesh repair is superior to suture repair with regard to the recurrence of hernia, regardless of the size of the hernia.

Adult↗

Poststroke dementia: incidence and relationship to prestroke cognitive decline.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the 3-year incidence of poststroke dementia (PSD) and the influence of prestroke cognitive decline. METHODS: The authors evaluated prestroke cognitive functions in 202 consecutive stroke patients > or =40 years old using the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE), with a cut-off of 104 for the diagnosis of dementia. Six months and then annually after stroke, dementia was reassessed. The diagnosis of dementia was based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision criteria in survivors who underwent a visit with a neurologist, or on the IQCODE score obtained by telephone contact with the family in survivors who did not. Statistics were performed using life-table methods. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients were excluded because of prestroke dementia. In the 169 remaining patients, the cumulative proportion of patients with dementia was 28.5% at the end of the follow-up period, with most of PSD occurring during the first 6 months. Using multivariate analysis, independent predictors of PSD were aging, preexisting cognitive decline, severity of deficit at admission, diabetes mellitus, and silent infarcts. Leukoaraiosis was an independent predictor of PSD when prestroke cognitive decline was not taken into account. The presumed etiology of dementia was vascular dementia (VaD) in two-thirds of patients and AD in one-third. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of PSD is high, and increased in patients with prestroke cognitive decline, with about one-third of patients meeting the criteria for AD and two-thirds meeting the criteria for VaD. These results confirm that, in stroke patients, an underlying degenerative pathology may play a role in the development of PSD.

Adult↗

Total occlusion of iliac arteries: results of balloon angioplasty.

Fifty-six occluded iliac arteries (mean length 6.1 cm; range 1-17 cm) in 50 patients were treated by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) or laser-assisted PTA (bilateral lesions in 6 patients). Twenty-seven patients (54%) were at high risk for surgery. Patients were followed for a maximum period of 72 months (mean 23.12 months; median 20 months). The initial success rate was 78.57% for arteries and 82% for patients. Laser-assisted PTA was attempted in 11 occluded arteries (19.64%) and was successful in 4 arteries (7.14%). Conventional PTA was successful in 71.4% of arteries including all 7 arteries for which laser-assisted PTA failed (76% of patients). PTA was unsuccessful in 12 arteries (21.43%). Urokinase was used before PTA in 1 artery. The effect of PTA was evident clinically by relief of rest pain (66.66%), healing of ulcer (57%), increased claudication distance or no claudication (79%) in limbs, and objectively, by improvement in ankle/arm index (AAI) (an increase of 0.16 to 0.91) and increased exercise tolerance. Continuous improvement in AAI was observed after PTA on follow-up in 9 limbs. One patient died during follow-up. On follow-up, 3 arteries were occluded, 6 showed evidence of stenosis, and 1 showed fusiform dilatation at the PTA site. The long-term results using the life-table method determined a 76% primary patency rate and 81% secondary patency rate for 72 months. The overall patency including failures was 63%. Age of the patients (p = 0.0169) and hypertension (p = 0.0015) significantly affected the long-term patency of the artery but not the initial success. The major complications were arterial rupture in a repeat procedure in 1 artery, axillary artery thrombosis in 1, and distal thromboembolic occlusion during PTA in 4. The long-term patency rates suggest that PTA of totally occluded iliac arteries is a safe and effective procedure and provides a long-term benefit.

Adult↗

Risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma in patients with 'classic' atypical-mole syndrome. A case-control study.

BACKGROUND AND DESIGN: There is an increased risk of developing cutaneous malignant melanomas (MMs) in patients with classic atypical-mole syndrome (AMS). This study compares the incidence of newly diagnosed MMs in patients with classic AMS (cases) with the incidence of newly diagnosed MMs developing in a population without classic AMS (control patients). The charts of 287 white patients with AMS and 831 white patients without AMS were reviewed for the occurrence of newly diagnosed invasive MMs during follow-up. Both cases and control patients were followed up regularly by total-body cutaneous examinations. The cumulative 10-year risk for developing newly diagnosed invasive MMs was calculated (life-table method) for each cohort. RESULTS: Of the 287 AMS cases, 10 developed a newly diagnosed invasive MM, resulting in a 10-year cumulative risk of 10.7%. Of the 831 control patients, two developed a newly diagnosed invasive MM, resulting in a 10-year cumulative risk of 0.62%. CONCLUSION: Patients with classic AMS, regardless of the presence of a personal and/or family history of MM, are at significantly increased risk of developing invasive MMs compared with control patients.

Adult↗

[Clinical significance of P53-immunohistochemistry in large slice in evaluating distal intramural spread extent in rectal cancer].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: The optimal distal molecular clearance margin of rectal cancer hasn't been confirmed. This study was designed to explore the molecular margin of distal intramural spread (DIS)in rectal cancer, and its prognostic value, and to further clarify the required distal margin of radical surgery for rectal cancer. METHODS: Sixty-one P53 positive specimens,resected from patients with rectal cancer from Aug.1996 to Oct. 1997, were collected. Microscopic DIS was examined by P53-immunohistochemistry (P53-IHC),comparing with conventional hematoxylineosin (HE)staining in consecutive large slice. Tissue shrinkage ratio,comparing the distal clearance margin measured in fresh specimens to that measured in large slice after fixed in each case,was used to convert macroscopically measured extent of distal spread to its actual extent. After long-term follow-up, the survival curves of 4 DIS groups were estimated by Life-table method. RESULTS: With P53-IHC,DIS was observed in 50 cases (82.0%), DIS extents were 0.11-3.50 cm with the mean of 0.59 cm, DIS extent of > 3.00 cm was detected in 1 case only. Meanwhile,DIS was observed in 29 cases (47.5%)by HE staining, DIS extents were 0.10-1.39 cm with the mean of 0.13 cm. There was significant difference between the 2 means (P< 0.0001). The long-term result indicated that the survival rate of DIS extent of >1.00 cm group was lower than those of non-DIS group,and DIS extent of < 0.50 cm group (P< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: DIS was more exactly detected by P53-IHC than by HE. Most of DIS extents were less than 1 cm in rectal cancer. For over 95% cases, 3 cm distal to the rectal cancers was relatively safe in radical operations. The poor prognosis can be predicted in cases with DIS extent of >1 cm.

Adenocarcinoma↗

A population-based study of glioblastoma multiforme.

PURPOSE: To describe (1) the use of surgery and radiotherapy (RT) in the treatment of patients with glioblastoma (GBM) in Ontario, (2) survival, and (3) proportion of survival time spent in the hospital after diagnosis. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We performed a population-based cohort study of all Ontario Cancer Registry (OCR) cases of GBM diagnosed between 1982 and 1994. We linked OCR records, hospital files containing surgical procedure codes from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, and province-wide RT records. We studied the odds of treatment using multivariate logistic regression. We expressed the time spent in the hospital as the mean number of days per case, and as a proportion of the interval between diagnosis and death, or 24 months following diagnosis, whichever came first. We used the life-table method and Cox proportional hazards regression to describe survival. RESULTS: The proportion of patients with GBM undergoing any surgery directed at the tumor varied with age (p < 0.0001) and region of residence (p < 0.0001). The proportion undergoing RT varied with age (p < 0.0001), region of residence (p < 0.0001), and year of diagnosis (p = 0.01). RT dose > or = 53.5 Gy varied with age (p < 0.0001), region of residence (p < 0.0001), and year of diagnosis (p = 0.0002). Median survival was 11 months among patients receiving RT and 3 months among those not receiving RT. The percentage of survival time spent in the hospital was similar among those who received from 49.5 to < 53.5 Gy, compared to > or = 53.5 Gy. Overall survival and the adjusted relative risk of death varied with age and region of residence. CONCLUSION: We observed practice variation in the treatment of patients with GBM according to age, region of residence, and year of diagnosis. Survival did not increase during the study period. The variation in RT dose between those receiving from 49.5 to < 53.5 Gy compared to > or =53.5 Gy was not paralleled by variation in survival between regions where one or the other of the dose ranges predominated, nor was variation in dose ranges among the regions paralleled by variation in the proportion of survival time spent in the hospital.

Adult↗

Results of femoropopliteal and femorotibial greater saphenous vein in situ bypass. Life table analysis.

Five-hundred-ninety-four nonselected "in situ" reconstructions were analysed retrospectively using the life table method. Especially after immediate occlusion cumulative patency is very unsatisfactory. After 5 years cumulative patency rate in these cases is 39.5% vs. 64.9% in all cases. Patency rates are influenced by the anastomotic site and the run-off quality. While statistically not significant, popliteal anastomoses perform a little better after 5 years than peripheral anastomoses (67% vs. 51% cumulative patency rate). The number of patent tibial arteries seems to be the most important determinant. In non-occluded run-off cases (three patent tibial vessels) the cumulative patency rate after 5 years is 82.2% vs. 56% in cases with only one patent tibial artery. The difference is statistically significant.

Aged↗

[Natural history of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage. A 1-7 year follow-up study of 74 cases].

74 cases of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) were followed up for a period of 1 to 7 years, most of them had been examined by CT-scan and/or cerebral angiography. The life-table method was used to determine the cumulative survival rate and cumulative recurrence rate. The mortality rates in both acute and chronic stages and the re-bleeding rate were found to be essentially similar to those of other series of SAH admitted to a tertiary care center as were reported in the Chinese and world literature. Hypertension was probably a risk factor for SAH. The incidence of diabetes mellitus in the present series was significantly higher than that found in the same age groups of general population in Shanghai, which fact deserves further evaluation. The clinical characteristics of the patients in the acute stage were not found to be related to their outcome.

Adolescent↗