To investigate the global incidence of prostate cancer with special attention to the changing age structures. Data regarding the cancer incidence and population statistics were retrieved from the ...International Agency for Research on Cancer in World Health Organization. Eight developing and developed jurisdictions in Asia and the Western countries were selected for global comparison. Time series were constructed based on the cancer incidence rates from 1988 to 2007. The incidence rate of the population aged ≥ 65 was adjusted by the increasing proportion of elderly population, and was defined as the "aging-adjusted incidence rate". Cancer incidence and population were then projected to 2030. The aging-adjusted incidence rates of prostate cancer in Asia (Hong Kong, Japan and China) and the developing Western countries (Costa Rica and Croatia) had increased progressively with time. In the developed Western countries (the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden), we observed initial increases in the aging-adjusted incidence rates of prostate cancer, which then gradually plateaued and even decreased with time. Projections showed that the aging-adjusted incidence rates of prostate cancer in Asia and the developing Western countries were expected to increase in much larger extents than the developed Western countries.
Screening for depression in older adults is recommended.
To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the Two-Question Screen for older adults and compare it with other screening instruments for ...depression.
We undertook a literature search for studies assessing the diagnostic performance of depression screening instruments in older adults. Combined diagnostic accuracy including sensitivity and specificity were the primary outcomes. Potential risks of bias and the quality of studies were also assessed.
A total of 46 506 participants from 132 studies were identified evaluating 16 screening instruments. The majority of studies (63/132) used various versions of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and 6 used the Two-Question Screen. The combined sensitivity and specificity for the Two-Question Screen were 91.8% (95% CI 85.2-95.6) and 67.7% (95% CI 58.1-76.0), respectively; the diagnostic performance area under the curve (AUC) was 90%. The Two-Question Screen showed comparable performance with other instruments, including clinician-rated scales. The One-Question Screen showed the lowest diagnostic performance with an AUC of 78%. In subgroup analysis, the Two-Question Screen also had good diagnostic performance in screening for major depressive disorder.
The Two-Question Screen is a simple and short instrument for depression screening. Its diagnostic performance is comparable with other instruments and, therefore, it would be favourable to use it for older adult screening programmes.
Serrated polyps of the colon comprise a heterogeneous group of lesions with distinct histological and malignant features. The presence of serrated polyps has been associated with synchronous advanced ...neoplasia, although the magnitude of this relationship is unclear.
Using studies identified from systematic literature search up to February 2014, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the pooled prevalence of serrated polyps and their association with synchronous advanced neoplasia. Random-effects models were used to combine estimates from heterogeneous studies, and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were presented.
Nine studies with 34,084 participants were included. The mean age of subjects was 59.9±6.6 years and 52.5% of the subjects were male. Pooled prevalence of serrated polyps was 15.6% (95% CI, 10.3-22.9%). The pooled OR of advanced neoplasia in individuals with serrated polyps was 2.05 (95% CI, 1.38-3.04). Pooled analysis showed that the presence of proximal serrated polyps (OR=2.77, 95% CI, 1.71-4.46) and large serrated polyps (OR=4.10, 95% CI, 2.69-6.26) was associated with an increased risk of synchronous advanced neoplasia. The pooled OR for advanced neoplasia in individuals with proximal and large serrated polyps was 3.35 (95% CI, 2.51-4.46). Considerable heterogeneity was observed in most analyses.
Our meta-analysis showed that serrated polyps are associated with a more than twofold increased risk of detection of synchronous advanced neoplasia. Individuals with proximal and large serrated polyps have the highest risk. These individuals deserve surveillance colonoscopy.
The role of cap-assisted colonoscopy (CAC) in polyp detection and cecal intubation is unclear. We conducted a meta-analysis to compare the efficacy of CAC vs. standard colonoscopy (SC).
Publications ...in English and non-English literatures (OVID, MEDLINE, and EMBASE) and abstracts in major international conferences were searched for controlled trials comparing CAC and SC. Outcome measures included the proportion of patients with polyps or adenomas detected, cecal intubation rate, cecal intubation time, and total colonoscopy time. The statistical heterogeneity of trials was examined and the effects were pooled by random-effects model. The risk of bias was evaluated by the assessment tool from the Cochrane Handbook. Subgroup analyses were performed for possible clinical and methodological heterogeneities.
From 2,358 citations, 16 randomized controlled clinical trials were included consisting of 8,991 subjects (CAC: 4,501; SC: 4,490). Mean age of subjects was 61.0 years old and 60% were males. CAC detected a higher proportion of patients with polyp(s) (relative risk (RR): 1.08; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00-1.17) and reduced the cecal intubation time (mean difference: -0.64 min; 95% CI: -1.19 to -0.10). Cecal intubation rate (RR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.99-1.02) and total colonoscopy time (mean difference: -0.97 min; 95% CI: -2.33 to 0.40) were comparable between the two groups. In subgroup analyses, a short cap (≤4 mm) was associated with improved polyp detection, whereas a long cap (≥7 mm) was associated with a shorter cecal intubation time.
CAC demonstrated marginal benefit over SC for polyp detection and shortened the cecal intubation time.
China is facing the challenges of an expanding ageing population and the impact of rapid urbanization, cancer rates are subsequently increasing. This study focuses on the changes of the ageing ...population and projects the incidence of common ageing-related cancers in the urban regions in China up to 2030.
Cancer incidence data and population statistics in China were extracted from the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Due to improving longevity in China, continuous and remarkable increasing trends for the lung, colorectal and prostate cancers are expected.
The rate of expanding ageing population was taken into account when predicting the trend of cancer incidence; the estimations of ageing-related cancers were more factual and significant than using the conventional approach of age standardization.
The incidence rates of lung, colorectal and prostate cancers will continue to rise in the future decades due to the rise of ageing population. Lifestyle modification such as cutting tobacco smoking rates and promoting healthier diets as well as cancer screening programs should be a health system priority in order to decrease the growing burden of cancer-related mortality and morbidity.
Background The Asia-Pacific Colorectal Screening (APCS) score based on age, gender, family history, and smoking is useful to predict advanced colorectal neoplasia (ACN) in asymptomatic Asian ...subjects. Purpose To evaluate the factors in addition to those of APCS associated with ACN colonoscopic findings. Methods Data from 5,220 asymptomatic subjects aged between 50 and 70 years who underwent screening colonoscopy in a community center between 2008 and 2012 were analyzed. One binary logistic regression analysis was conducted in 2013 with the presence of ACN or cancer as the outcome, controlling for APCS score, alcohol consumption, BMI, hypertension, and other chronic diseases as independent variables. Results The average participant age was 57.7 years (SD=4.9) and 47.5% were men. Advanced neoplasms or cancers were identified at colonoscopy in 5.6% of all screening participants. From multivariate regression analysis, APCS score≥4 (adjusted OR AOR=1.74, 95% CI=1.34, 2.25, p <0.001); overweight (BMI=23−24.9, AOR=1.52, 95% CI=1.12, 2.07, p =0.007); obesity (BMI≥25, AOR=1.56, 95% CI=1.15, 2.10, p =0.004); hypertension (AOR=1.58, 95% CI=1.21, 2.06, p =0.001); and alcohol consumption (AOR=1.47, 95% CI=1.05, 2.06, p =0.025) were associated with ACN. The c-statistic of APCS score alone was 0.560 (95% CI=0.524, 0.595, p =0.001) and that of APCS score plus BMI, hypertension, and alcohol consumption was 0.613 (95% CI=0.578, 0.648, p <0.001). Conclusions Alcohol consumption, hypertension, and BMI are independent predictors of ACN, which could be incorporated into the APCS for prioritizing Asian asymptomatic subjects for colorectal cancer screening.
Population growth and changes in demographic structure are linked to trends in colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence. The aim of this study is to estimate future CRC incidence in the ageing population, ...and compare trends across developing and developed regions.
Cancer and population data were extracted from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Annual incidence rates for the major types of cancer in 118 selected populations were extracted from 102 cancer registries in 39 countries worldwide. We selected 8 jurisdictions (from the United States, Europe, and Asia) that reported 20-year cancer incidence rates since 1988. Time series models were constructed to project cancer incidence, by sex and age, to 2030. Incidence rates for persons older than 65 years were combined and further adjusted for change of ageing population. We compared age-adjusted incidence rates among the jurisdictions.
The total population older than 65 years old was 12,917,794 in 1988, and the number increased by almost 40% to 17,950,115 in 2007. In developed countries in the West CRC incidence is predicted to decrease by 16.3% in the United States, increase by 4.8% in the United Kingdom, and increase by 4.7% in Sweden by 2030. In developing countries, such as China (Shanghai), Croatia, and Costa Rica, CRC incidence is predicted to increase in a steep curve by 2030 because of the growing population and ageing effect; in 2030, the incidence increases were 60.5% for China, 47.0% for Croatia, and 18.5% for Costa Rica. We also predict CRC incidence will increase greatly by 2030 in Japan and Hong Kong, which are developed regions.
With the exception of the United States, the incidence of CRC is expected to continue to rise in most regions in the coming decades, due to population growth and changes in demographic structure. The predicted increases are more marked in developing regions with limited health care resources.
We aim to develop and validate a clinical scoring system to predict the risks of colorectal neoplasia to better inform screening participants and facilitate their screening test choice.
We recruited ...5220 Chinese asymptomatic screening participants who underwent colonoscopy in Hong Kong during 2008-2012. From random sampling of 2000 participants, independent risk factors were evaluated for colorectal neoplasia, defined as adenoma, advanced neoplasia, colorectal cancer or any combination thereof using binary regression analysis. The ORs for significant risk factors were used to develop a scoring system ranging from 0 to 6: 0-2 'average risk' (AR) and 3-6 'high risk' (HR). The other 3220 screening participants prospectively enrolled between 2008 and 2012 for screening colonoscopy formed an independent validation cohort. The performance of the scoring system for predicting colorectal neoplasia was evaluated.
The prevalence of colorectal neoplasia in the derivation and validation cohorts was 31.4% and 30.8%, respectively. Using the scoring system developed, 78.9% and 21.1% in the validation cohort were classified as AR and HR, respectively. The prevalence of colorectal neoplasia in the AR and HR groups was 27.1% and 44.6%, respectively. The subjects in the HR group had 1.65-fold (95% CI 1.49 to 1.83) increased prevalence of colorectal neoplasia than the AR group.
The scoring system based on age, gender, smoking, family history, Body Mass Index and self-reported diabetes is useful in predicting the risk of colorectal neoplasia.
Background and Aim
Aspirin, commonly used for prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, is well known to protect against development of colorectal cancer (CRC) but increases risk of ...gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB). This cohort study aims to evaluate the benefit of low‐dose aspirin to prevent CRC and its associated risk of GIB.
Method
A population‐based dataset was used to compare incidence and mortality of CRC and GIB among patients receiving low‐dose aspirin with sex‐matched and age‐matched controls (1:2). A total of 204 170 aspirin users taking aspirin for at least 6 months and 408 339 nonusers were analyzed. Patients' clinical outcomes were documented for up to 14 years or until death.
Results
A total of 612 509 patients were included; 5118 (2.51%) out of 204 170 aspirin users were diagnosed with CRC; and 2073 (1.02%) died of the malignancy. On the other hand, 13 336 (3.27%) out of 408 339 non‐aspirin users were diagnosed with CRC, and 6953 (1.70%) died. Using the competing risk regression, aspirin usage significantly reduced CRC mortality (subdistribution hazard ratio = 0.59; 95% confidence interval = 0.56 to 0.62). A total of 9483 (4.64%) aspirin users developed GIB, and 820 (0.40%) died, while 11 198 (2.74%) nonusers developed GIB, and 1488 (0.36%) died. Aspirin usage marginally increased risk of bleeding‐related mortality (subdistribution hazard ratio = 1.09; 95% confidence interval = 1.00 to 1.19). Subgroup analyses showed the use of acid‐secreting agents significantly reduced aspirin‐induced mortality.
Conclusion
The long‐term use of aspirin reduces both incidence and mortality of CRC and at the same time increases incidence and mortality risk of GIB. With combination use of acid‐secreting agents, the bleeding risk can be reduced.
We tested the a priori hypothesis that self-perceived and real presences of risks for colorectal cancer (CRC) are associated with better knowledge of the symptoms and risk factors for CRC, ...respectively.
One territory-wide invitation for free CRC screening between 2008 to 2012 recruited asymptomatic screening participants aged 50-70 years in Hong Kong. They completed survey items on self-perceived and real presences of risks for CRC (advanced age, male gender, positive family history and smoking) as predictors, and knowledge of CRC symptoms and risk factors as outcome measures, respectively. Their associations were evaluated by binary logistic regression analyses.
From 10,078 eligible participants (average age 59 years), the mean knowledge scores for symptoms and risk factors were 3.23 and 4.06, respectively (both score range 0-9). Male gender (adjusted odds ratio AOR = 1.34, 95% C.I. 1.20-1.50, p<0.01), self-perception as not having any risks for CRC (AOR = 1.12, 95% C.I. 1.01-1.24, p = 0.033) or uncertainty about having risks (AOR = 1.94, 95% C.I. 1.55-2.43, p<0.001), smoking (AOR 1.38, 95% C.I. 1.11-1.72, p = 0.004), and the absence of family history (AOR 0.61 to 0.78 for those with positive family history, p<0.001) were associated with poorer knowledge scores (≤ 4) of CRC symptoms. These factors remained significant for knowledge of risk factors.
Male and smokers were more likely to have poorer knowledge but family history of CRC was associated with better knowledge. Since screening of these higher risk individuals could lead to greater yield of colorectal neoplasm, educational interventions targeted to male smokers were recommended.
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