Association of FOBT-assessed faecal Hb content with colonic lesions detected in the Florence screening programme

We assessed the correlation between quantitative results of immunological faecal occult blood testing (I-FOBT) and colonic lesions (191 colorectal cancers, 890 adenomas) detected at colonoscopy in 2597 FOBT+ (cutoff 100 ng ml−1 Hb) subjects. At univariate analysis, a higher average faecal Hb content was significantly associated with male gender (P=0.003), age (P=0.02), and colonoscopy findings (P=0.000). Among adenomas, higher faecal Hb content was significantly associated with size (P=0.0000), presence of severe dysplasia (P=0.0001), presence of villous component (P=0.0002), and location in the left colon (P=0.003). At multivariate analysis adjusting for potential confounders, age (P=0.03), size (P=0.0000), and location in the left colon (P=0.0005) were confirmed as having an independent association with higher faecal Hb content. Immunological FOBT is confirmed to be a specific screening test to detect cancer and adenoma, with a low positivity rate (3.7%) and a high positive predictive value (41.5%). Faecal Hb content is significantly higher for those lesions (cancer and high-risk adenomas) screening is aimed at detecting

Comparison of HPV-positive triage strategies combining extended genotyping with cytology or p16/ki67 dual staining in the Italian NTCC2 study

Background Each high-risk HPV genotype has different oncogenic potential, and the risk of CIN3+ varies according to genotype. We evaluated the performance of different strategies of HPV-positivity triage combining cytology, p16/ki67 dual staining (DS), and extended genotyping. Methods Samples from 3180 consecutive women from the NTCC2 study (NCT01837693) positive for HPV DNA at primary screening, were retrospectively analyzed by the BD Onclarity HPV Assay, which allows extended genotyping. Genotypes were divided into three groups based on the risk of CIN3+. HPV DNA-positive women were followed up for 24 months or to clearance. Findings Combining the three groups of genotypes with cytology or DS results we identify a group of women who need immediate colposcopy (PPV for CIN3+ from 7.8 to 20.1%), a group that can be referred to 1-year HPV retesting (PPV in those HPV-positive at retesting from 2.2 to 3.8), and a group with a very low 24-month CIN3+ risk, i.e. 0.4%, composed by women cytology or DS negative and positive for HPV 56/59/66 or 35/39/68 or negative with the Onclarity test, who can be referred to 3-year retesting. Interpretation Among the baseline HPV DNA positive/cytology or DS negative women, the extended genotyping allows to stratify for risk of CIN3+, and to identify a group of women with a risk of CIN3+ so low in the next 24 months that they could be referred to a new screening round after 3 years

Immunochemical faecal occult blood test: number of samples and positivity cutoff. What is the best strategy for colorectal cancer screening?

Immunochemical faecal occult blood tests have shown a greater sensitivity than guaiac test in colorectal cancer screening, but optimal number of samples and cutoff have still to be defined. The aim of this multicentric study was to evaluate the performance of immunochemical-based screening strategies according to different positivity thresholds (80, 100, 120 ng ml−1) and single vs double sampling (one, at least one, or both positive samples) using 1-day sample with cutoff at 100 ng ml−1 as the reference strategy. A total of 20 596 subjects aged 50–69 years were enrolled from Italian population-based screening programmes. Positivity rate was 4.5% for reference strategy and 8.0 and 2.0% for the most sensitive and the most specific strategy, respectively. Cancer detection rate of reference strategy was 2.8‰, and ranged between 2.1 and 3.4‰ in other strategies; reference strategy detected 15.6‰ advanced adenomas (range=10.0–22.5‰). The number needed to scope to find a cancer or an advanced adenoma was lower than 2 (1.5–1.7) for the most specific strategies, whereas it was 2.4–2.7, according to different thresholds, for the most sensitive ones. Different strategies seem to have a greater impact on adenomas rather than on cancer detection rate. The study provides information when deciding screening protocols and to adapt them to local resources

‘Real people in real places’: Conceptualizing power for emancipatory security through Tahrir

The objective of emancipatory security theory is to examine the insecurities of individuals and social groups that stem from oppressive power processes, relations, and structures. However, the image of power in emancipatory security studies does not correspond to such a normative and analytical motivation. This renders the theory susceptible to substantial criticism on the grounds of inadequate analysis of resisting individuals as agents of security in their own localities. To address this issue, the present article conceptualizes ‘emancipatory power’. In this exercise, Hannah Arendt’s understanding of power, enriched by Judith Butler’s concept of performativity and feminist insights, will be used as the theoretical foundation to tailor collective power based on trust in a ‘moment’ of emancipation. Collective power will be illustrated by references to the protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in 2011. © The Author(s) 2015

Brain tumour differentiation: rapid stratified serum diagnostics via attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy

The ability to diagnose cancer rapidly with high sensitivity and specificity is essential to exploit advances in new treatments to lead significant reductions in mortality and morbidity. Current cancer diagnostic tests observing tissue architecture and specific protein expression for specific cancers suffer from inter-observer variability, poor detection rates and occur when the patient is symptomatic. A new method for the detection of cancer using 1 μl of human serum, attenuated total reflection - Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and pattern recognition algorithms is reported using a 433 patient dataset (3897 spectra). To the best of our knowledge, we present the largest study on serum mid-infrared spectroscopy for cancer research. We achieve optimum sensitivities and specificities using a Radial Basis Function Support Vector Machine of between 80.0 and 100% for all strata and identify the major spectral features, hence biochemical components, responsible for the discrimination within each stratum. We assess feature fed-SVM analysis for our cancer versus non-cancer model and achieve 91.5 and 83.0% sensitivity and specificity respectively. We demonstrate the use of infrared light to provide a spectral signature from human serum to detect, for the first time, cancer versus non-cancer, metastatic cancer versus organ confined, brain cancer severity and the organ of origin of metastatic disease from the same sample enabling stratified diagnostics depending upon the clinical question asked. © 2016, The Author(s)